Here We Go Now
by Minishini
Summary: It’s been twentyfour years since the battle to save earth. Sam and Mikaela are happily married, and have their only little family to care for. Their eldest daughter, Lori, is about to depart for college when things go awry. Based off the 2007 Movie.
1. Chapter 1

Title: Here We Go Now

Chapter: 1 of ?

Author: Minishini

Ratings: PG-13 says I. Some cursing and vague sexual references. Nothing really naughty.

Pairings: Sam x Bee, Bee x Mikaela

Summary: It's been twenty-four years since the battle to save earth. Sam and Mikaela are happily married, and have their only little family to care for. Their eldest daughter, Lori, is about to depart for college when shit hits the fan.

Author's Notes: Okay, this will probably be OC galore. Don't shoot me. ;o; I plan to still involve a lot of the characters from the movies, and in major ways. And there will be some cameos from some of our other beloved Autobots and Decepticons.

Disclaimer: Transformers and all that jazz is not mine, I wasn't even born when it was created, and therefore I claim no rights to any of it. So don't sue me, I'm a poor college student. Lori Witwhicky (and soon to be several other original characters) are mine, however. So please do not use them unless you ask and are given permission in return.

* * *

"Oh god, oh god, oh god," Sam couldn't believe this was happening. This was definitely not happening. "Lori, what are you doing?"

His daughter, Lori Witwhicky, looked up innocently from where she was bent over the hood of Sam's 2008 Camaro. "Washing your car. It was filthy."

Sam buried his face in one of his hands as he tried to calm his beating heart. He was definitely sure that his daughter hadn't noticed the Camaro humming softly as she stroked the smooth metal with a soapy sponge. Or that the radio was blaring seemingly innocent songs with more suggestive material, such as Christina Aguilera's _Genie in a Bottle._

"By the way, you should really let me or mom at that radio," Lori frowned as the volume from inside the car turned up.

"_You gotta rub me the right way if you wanna be with me_," filled the slight pause between Sam's response.

"It's uh…never worked right," he replied, tossing his traitorous car a glare. His brown eyes shifted from his car—which was all too obviously enjoying Lori's attention—to cast a judging eye over her choice of attire. Didn't she know that she was an absolute boy magnet wearing a bikini out in the front lawn? "Put some damn clothes on."

His daughter simply sighed, shook her head, and went to work on a particularly stubborn blotch of mud on the Camaro's hood. "You're welcome, dad. You could show some appreciation that I'm taking care of this relic of the 2000's for you. When are you gonna get a new car?"

At this the radio shut off abruptly.

Bumblebee had never liked when people underestimated his favorite transformation. Sam could only grin at his daughter, who was blissfully ignorant of what exactly the Camaro was. "That car is all the car I'll ever want or need."

"_Things aren't always what they seem to be, and sometimes life is something you can't see,_" the radio flared back to life. "_It's more…It's more than meets the eyes._"

Lori huffed as she dumped the sponge in a water bucket by her feet. "Did you like, program it to do that or something?" she accused her father as she glared at the odd car. "It's creepy as hell."

"Yeah, he likes having that effect on people," yawning innocently, Sam leaned against the frame of the garage door as his daughter snatched up a garden hose. Bumblebee's tail lights flared red for a brief instant—something Sam knew meant he was going to _really_ enjoy being hosed down. "Have you gotten any of your packing done?"

Lori shrugged absently as she turned the hose on the Camaro's roof. The radio was now blaring a loud rap song, the bass lines making the whole car vibrate. "More or less. Just got a couple boxes to finish up, then I'm good to go."

He knew better than to feel depressed over that news, but the idea of his daughter finally leaving the nest had never been a loved one to Sam. She would be moving half way across the country from him and the safety of his home—the safety the Autobots offered. "When are you planning to leave?" he tried to sound like it didn't bother him, and he must've failed miserably.

"Papa, it's gonna be okay," his daughter smiled warmly at him as she leaned up against Bumblebee's door to reach the far side of his roof. "I'll be home on breaks and what not. Besides, it's college. It's totally worth it, right?"

"Of course," Sam was frowning as a young teenage boy on a bicycle rode past their house, his eyes wide and bulging as he ogled Lori. Not for the first time since she had gone through puberty, Sam cursed his daughter for inheriting his mother's extraordinarily gorgeous features. Lori looked too much like Mikaela. And she took after her in nearly every aspect. The body, the awkward fetish for cars, even her taste in boys.

This was glaringly evident as another teen stumbled across the scene on Sam's front lawn. This one was older yet still had the young touch of high school on his face. And he was built like a fucking tank. _God, I hate football players_, Sam growled to himself.

"Keep walking, boy!" Sam shouted and startled the poor kid out of his day dream.

Lori was grinning to herself and blushing as she moved the hose down Bumblebee's windshield. "They like your car, dad."

"They also like my damn daughter," Sam cursed and stood up from where he leaned against the door frame. "Inside. Now. The next time I see you I want you to be wearing shirts and pants. _Long_ pants."

"Dad," Lori sighed in exasperation. "Seriously, I'm an adult now."

"You're eighteen and still living under my roof, and paying for you college with my money. You aren't an adult in my book," Sam grumbled and grabbed the hose from his daughter. Bee's radio had fallen quiet, replaced by a soft purr from under the hood. "Inside!"

Sighing, Lori resigned herself to the fate that her dad would keep her from ever marrying. She trudged into the house, sulking and moping the entire way.

"She has a nice touch," Bumblebee's raspy voice chirped as the door slammed shut behind Lori.

Sam simply glared at his car. "Off limits, Bee."

"I am just saying," the car made a sound that resembled laughter. "Now, are you going to finish what she started, or…?" the voice faded off suggestively.

And Sam's groin twitched at the tone. "What do you have in mind?" he asked quietly as he turned the hose back on Bee's shimmering body. It was oddly arousing, watching the water glisten and slide over pristine metal. Sam knew he had just as much of a car fetish as his wife, but at least he had a damn good reason for it. His car was actually a sentient robot, not just a clunking chunk of metal.

"Actually, I am not sure. It just seemed to be an appropriate thing to say," Bee spoke cheerfully. "Of course, if you have any ideas, however, I would be glad to listen to them."

Sam shook his head and grinned as he moved around the Camaro, garden hose at full blast to clean off the last of the suds. He was quiet as he grabbed a pair of soft towels from a pile Lori had dragged onto the lawn, and ran the cloth teasingly across Bee's side view mirror.

The car rumbled in response.

"I can think of a few things," Sam murmured. "All of which are unfortunately not meant for the front lawn," with that, his hands worked with the efficiency and unattached effort of a worker at a car wash.

Bumblebee's whole frame seemed to sigh in disappointment. "I sense some tension in you that is not sexual in orientation."

"Some tension that I wouldn't mind working off sexually."

"You wouldn't mind getting off no matter the circumstances."

"Shut it, Bee," Sam laughed.

"What is bothering you, Sam?"

"It's…Lori, really," Sam started slowly. He knew that if he had tried to dodge the Autobots' questions Bee would've simple brought it up again and again until Sam answered honestly. The damn robot had developed a stubborn streak in him since he came to earth. "I don't know if she's ready for a move like this. She'll be up in Chicago all by herself. None of her friends are even going to school outside of California."

"She will make new friends," Bumblebee stated boldly, as if he were a hundred percent certain that what he said would come true. "And maybe it is you that is not ready? Your mother was quite the same when it was your turn to leave."

"Stop being so blunt," Sam grumbled and moved from one spot of Bee's car anatomy to another. He was careful to avoid the spots Bee really liked having rubbed until absolutely necessary. The vibrating and humming coming from deep inside the robot car was distracting.

"But it is true. You are not ready to see her leave."

"It feels like yesterday I was taking her to her first day of preschool and she wouldn't let go of me," Sam said shortly. He could remember that moment clearly. Lori had been crying and screaming bloody murder as Sam nervously tried to unlatch her iron grip from around his leg. The preschool teacher had been polite and understanding, and even tried to lure Lori to the play area with a Barbie Doll. It wasn't until Sam had dangled Lori's favorite toy in front of the girl—a model of Bumblebee—that she finally quieted and went with the friendly teacher, one little hand clutching the model, the other shoved in her mouth. "Now she's all too eager to leave."

"All sentient life forms are quite proud of their independence, especially as they mature," once again Bumblebee spoke in a matter-of-fact tone. "It is only natural for her to want to break free and stretch her wings. I sense there is something more to it?"

"You guys said more transformers have been coming to earth," Sam frowned as his car suddenly fell quiet. The radio was silent, even the humming and rumbling from under the hood stopped. "You never said wither they were Autobots or Decepticons."

Bumblebee was silent for a moment before he chose to answer. "Both, really. We have made contact with several Autobots and confirmed their identities. We have also had sightings of Decepticons in out of the way areas. We are not sure what they plan, if they plan anything at all."

"Bee…would they like…try to avenge Megatron?" by now Sam was completely unconcerned with the water still beading on Bee's body. He simply stood there, his eyes focused on the black racing stripes running vertically across the top of Bee. "Would they target me or…or Lori?"

"Maybe," the Autobot replied honestly. "I will talk to Optimus Prime about it, and discover exactly what the threat level is towards you and your progeny."

"Bee, could I ask you a favor? I mean, it's not small. I'm asking you to do a huge thing for me, and I really…I would really like you to say yes."

It didn't even take a nanosecond for Bee to know what his response would be to Sam's question. The robot would do anything, _anything, _for his human. "Of course Sam."

"Would you go to school with Lori?"

* * *

Weeeellllll? What do you think? I have a whole huge plot…plotted. I would love some feedback. I know it's still a little early in the fic to get anything definitive going on, but still. ;o; Feedback is always good.

PS: I'm still new to so please forgive any wierd errors.

Songs used in this fic:

Christina Aguilera—_Genie in a Bottle_

Vaughan Penn—_More Than Meets the Eyes_ (I have no idea who this is, the lyrics just fit my purposes)


	2. Chapter 2

Title: Here We Go Now

Chapter: 2 of ?

Author: Minishini

Ratings: PG-13 says I. Some cursing is all in this installment.

Pairings: Sam x Mikaela

Summary: It's been twenty-four years since the battle to save earth. Sam and Mikaela are happily married, and have their only little family to care for. Their eldest daughter, Lori, is about to depart for college when shit hits the fan.

Author's Notes: Thanks for all your inputs in the first chapter of this haywire adventure! It really surprised me that it came over so successfully. I totally got motivated to keep writing it, lol.

Disclaimer: Transformers and all that jazz is not mine, I wasn't even born when it was created, and therefore I claim no rights to any of it. So don't sue me, I'm a poor college student. Lori Witwhicky (and soon to be several other original characters) are mine, however. So please do not use them unless you ask and are given permission in return.

* * *

Lori Witwhicky lay flat on her back in bed, brown eyes half lidded as she counted the specks on her ceiling. It was well past midnight and the whole house was asleep. She was, however, too busy thinking to let her eyes shut. "Tomorrow is the big day," she whispered to no one in particular. "The big day where you finally gain your independence, Lori my girl."

The thought was exciting and unsettling. Rolling over onto her side so that she could stare out her window, she sighed. She had been counting down to this day since her eighth grade graduation. Like all her class mates she had been going through that phase where parents were totally uncool and an embarrassment to her name. It was only natural for her to want to get out. But now…sheesh. She didn't want to leave home.

"Load of bullshit," she grumbled. Her mind kept thinking about the distance between Tranquility, CA and Chicago, IL. She couldn't even drive home on weekends to bum meals off her mom and do the laundry. None of her friends would be there to go out and do random crap with her. Hell, she wouldn't know _anyone_. Could she really cope with the loneliness?

And then there was her dad. Papa had always been an overbearing, over protective bear of a father. Lori always had a great relationship with him despite the many times he wouldn't let her go to her friends' parties or stay out past ten. And of course there was the unforgivable mishap at Trisha McFinnigan's pool party during her sophomore year. But now…now she was sure her dad was going a little _too _far.

He wouldn't let her take her own car to school with her.

She could remember the argument clearly despite the few days that had passed since then. Her dad had brought up the news over dinner, grinning proudly as he declared that Lori would instead be taking his old piece of crap Camaro. She had simply stared at him and dropped her fork to the floor. A long argument had followed in which Lori just couldn't help yelling at her dad, and her dad had simply grinned and shook his head.

"You'll love me for it, really," Sam Witwhicky had insisted.

And then of course he had tried to make her drive the stupid car. And lucky for her the doors wouldn't even budge when Sam had tried to open them for his moping daughter. "It's a piece of crap, dad," she had pouted before sulking back into the house. "No matter how pretty it looks."

Sam had only opted to glare murder at the yellow Camaro.

Lori sighed again and punched her pillow. She loved her car. She loved her dad's car. Hell, Lori just loved cars. But the Camaro was not _her_ car.

A bright flash from outside broke her out of her reverie. It had flared from a soft glow to illuminate her room as if it were daylight. "Dad!" she called out as she sat up in frustration. If her dad was outside talking to the car again…she'd call the loony bin to come and lock him up. "Dad, this is ridiculous!" she shouted as she went to the open window.

A dark street lay bellow her, quiet and motionless.

Frowning, Lori turned to go back to bed. She had barely taken a step before there was a great explosion behind her. Plaster and dust filled her entire room as she tried to duck and cover her head. Something large and very _metallic_ wrapped around her waist. She screamed like she had never screamed before as her feet left the floor and she was dragged out the gaping hole that had used to be her bedroom wall.

"Dad!" she screamed as she was lifted higher and higher, until she was at level with the roof of her house.

"Are you Lori Witwhicky?" a huge voice boomed somewhere above her head.

Lori froze as her small hands gripped at the metal wrapped around her. Her delicate fingers ran over the smooth surface as she realized it was shaped like a giant hand. She turned slowly. And screamed again.

"Are you Lori Witwhicky?" the robotic head that filled her vision shouted this time. Metallic eyebrows were furrowed in a very angry and very aggressive face. "Stop shouting, you flesh bag, and answer me!"

"Oh my god! Lori!"

"Dad!" she screamed and shot her attention back to the gaping hole in the house. Her mom and dad were standing on the edge, her mom looking as if she were going to feint. "Dad, oh my god, _help me!"_

"Sam Witwhicky," the robot's attention snapped from Lori to Sam. "So this is your progeny. I think I shall make her my pet."

"Starscream, you fucking jackass! Put my daughter _down_!" Sam bellowed.

In a small corner of Lori's mind, she thought how ludicrous it was that her dad was trying to intimidate a giant fucking robot.

The robot laughed in a very cruel way, before crouching down to Sam's level. "Beg me, and maybe I will let you all live as my pets. It is what Megatron would have wanted. You would crave your death in my enslavement."

Sam picked up a chunk of drywall from the floor and chucked it at the robot's head. "He's dead, you dumbass! Put my daughter down and take me! She had nothing to do with all this!"

"Tsk, tsk," Starscream, as her father had called the robot, shook its head before wiping the plaster powder from its face. "That's hardly the way for someone in your position to act."

Suddenly a loud horn blared in the relatively quiet street. Lori barely had time to look before a big rig truck collided into Starscream's legs and knocked it onto its side. Screaming, she clung to the metal hand gripping her waist as she was flung around.

"Optimus!" she could barely hear her dad yelling. "He's got Lori!"

All that Lori knew was that something was fighting her captor. Something huge and made of metal—another robot? Where the hell were these things coming from? "Dad!" she screamed as explosions and gunfire went off. She was still being shaken around as the giant robot struggled to fight off the other giant robot. Colors blurred in front of her eyes—bright red and blue flames on a shining metal body, flashing light reflected off panes of glass.

And then suddenly, it stopped.

"Fine," Starscream panted as he balanced himself in the middle of the street. He was crouching in a defensive hand-to-hand fighting position and glaring murderously at the giant robot he faced. Lori could only stare in awe as she ogled the second robot—a great big brute of a thing painted out in bright colors, the same bright colors she had caught glimpses of. The second robot was calm and glaring through the slits of a mask that covered its face. "You want the filthy human?"

"Put her down, Starscream, and we can finish this," the robot's voice was oddly warm and comforting as it spoke. Lori could tell just from its gentle tone that it was the robot she would rather be held by at the moment.

A grating metal sound came from Starscream and Lori's attention snapped back to him. She screamed once again—she was getting tired of reacting like that—as the metal being shifted and twisted, its body shrinking up in itself until it partially resembled a jet. Mammoth legs bunched up as engines roared to life. With a great leap the robot was air born and darting through the skies. "You can have her!" it laughed cruelly, before the hand holding Lori snapped open. "Long live Megatron!"

She didn't scream as she fell. In fact, it was an oddly peaceful moment. She had the distinct sight of the Starscream robot finishing its transformation as it disappeared into the night sky. Optimus was far bellow her and too far away to be of any help. He—and Lori was almost certain the robot was a male, if it had a gender—just had this horrified expression on his metal face as he reached a hand into the sky. The world slowed down as Lori spotted her parents. Sam was clinging to his wife, who was screaming out Lori's name as she fell. Her little brother, Jason, had joined them and was clinging to Mikaela's pajama pants.

Lori closed her eyes. There would be no help this time. Even if that…that robot thing was the good guy, he couldn't get to her in time. All she could do was wait before the imminent impact of her soft body on the hard asphalt street fall bellow.

And it came.

She was oddly conscious as her body slammed into the ground, or something she had thought was the ground. It wasn't until the world seemed to sway around her than she opened her eyes and stared up into a pair of twin blue glows.

"Lucky little girl," a rough voice seemed to laugh from the glows that watched her. "You should be happy I chose not to fire after him."

Lori's jaw dropped as she stared into the face of yet _another_ robot. This one had even more realistic facial features than the red and blue 'bot, the one her father had called Optimus. The metal seemed like it was just a shiny layer of silver skin stretched across a very ape-like face. "Oh dear god," she gasped.

The robot shook its head sadly. "Typical," it muttered before moving Lori to perch on his shoulder. "You humans gather courage at the oddest of times, yet remain completely shell shocked."

"Is she all right?" the red and blue robot was next to them now, face mask gone as he looked over Lori. "We should have Ratchet look over her. My sensors are showing internal bruising."

The robot Lori perched on shrugged, causing her to latch onto his head. "She'll live."

"Good catch, Ironhide," Optimus clapped a hand on the robot's free shoulder. "Lori Witwhicky, I am Optimus Prime."

"Lori," she gasped breathlessly in a sad excuse of an introduction. Her eyes were wide as she ogled the robot. This was not happening. This was definitely not happening.

"It is lucky that we were having a meeting with Bumblebee tonight," the robot smiled reassuringly at her. "Or else he would have had to fight off Starscream on his own. And I am afraid he was too far away to help at the time."

"Here he comes now," the ape-bot, Ironhide, rumbled in amusement as he pointed down the street.

Lori simply cursed as her dad's yellow Camaro came careening around a street corner, tires screeching and engine roaring. As it came closer to the house it suddenly jumped to life, shifting and twisting much like Starscream had until a giant yellow robot was running down the street.

"Sam! Mikaela!" the robot called out as it skidded to a stop in front of the Witwhicky's house. Blue optics took in the hole in the house before the robot asked, "Lori?"

Sam pointed towards Optimus and Ironhide. The yellow head turned on its neck to stare—almost with horror, Lori thought—at the two larger robots.

"She is all right, Bumblebee," Optimus spoke reassuringly as he lurched into a wide-paced walk. Lori yelped and tightened her grip on Ironhide's head as it followed. "There is nothing to worry about."

"Lori," the robot's voice was raspier than the others as it straightened. Yellow plated hands reached out towards Ironhide, and Lori yelped again as the robot tried to unlatch her from his head. "Lori, I am so sorry," Bumblebee moaned as Ironhide passed her into his hands. "I had no idea…Starscream was not supposed to be in this area."

Trembling, Lori clung to what had been her dad's Camaro as it cradled her against warm chest plates. "Oh dear god," she murmured to herself. She was faintly aware of the Camaro—no, Bumblebee, she corrected herself—turning towards the house. "Oh god, I've finally done it. I've gone insane."

* * *

I seem to have a tendency to leave cliffhangers with a little quote. Ah well. So here we go now! Look forward to some cameos from Cap'n Lennox and his family in the next installment, as well Ratchet and possibly some other Autobots from the animated series. As always, feedback is dearly loved, yearned, and craved for.


	3. Chapter 3

Title: Here We Go Now

Chapter: 3 of ?

Author: Minishini

Ratings: PG-13 says I. Some cursing is all in this installment.

Pairings: Sam x Mikaela

Summary: It's been twenty-four years since the battle to save earth. Sam and Mikaela are happily married, and have their only little family to care for. Their eldest daughter, Lori, is about to depart for college when shit hits the fan.

Author's Notes: Thanks for all your inputs in the first chapter of this haywire adventure! It really surprised me that it came over so successful. I totally got motivated to keep writing it.

Disclaimer: Transformers and all that jazz is not mine, I wasn't even born when it was created, and therefore I claim no rights to any of it. So don't sue me, I'm a poor college student. Lori Witwicky (and soon to be several other original characters) are mine, however. So please do not use them unless you ask and are given permission in return.

* * *

Bumblebee was quite thankful that the humans of Sam and Mikaela's neighborhood had finally gathered the courage to try and brave the insecurities of the open street. It gave him and the other Autobots the perfect excuse to revert to their recon forms for Lori's sake. So when the first human male bravely popped his head out of his front door, golf club raised threateningly above his head, all he saw was the partially demolished house of the Witwicky's and three rather normal vehicles parked to the side of the road. 

"Sam? What the hell happened?" the brave male called from across the street.

Sam took a moment to gather his thoughts. He was still clinging to his only daughter trying not to tear up in front of the Autobots. Mikaela, however, felt no shame in bawling her eyes out as she checked over Lori. "No clue, Mitch," he called to the other human male. "I think it was the army or something."

The human male looked up and down the street. "Maybe terrorists."

"Oh come on," Sam's voice cracked and he impulsively tightened his arms around Lori's tiny frame. "Terrorists in the middle of fucking no where?"

"Yeah, right," the male seemed disgruntled anyway. "What's all that white powder? Anthrax?"

"It's my damn dry wall!" Sam bellowed. His nerves were absolutely shot after watching his daughter get tossed around by Starscream. And watching her fall…Jesus, he didn't know if his nerves would ever recover. And then there was his daughter… "Lori, Lori baby, is you alright?"

The girl was muttering to herself under her breath, her eyes darting between the vehicles parked under the street. Her eyes came to rest on Bumblebee, a bright yellow Camaro, and she fell silent.

"Lori, hunny? Can you hear us?" Mikaela's voice trembled as she spoke. At least she had calmed down enough to stop crying, Sam thought.

"Dad…"

"Yeah, pumpkin?"

"Why the _fuck _did you not tell me about this," came Lori's whispered reply. Sam and Mikaela both laughed in relief before alternating kisses on the battered girl's head. "Why the hell would you not tell me this? Your car—your car is a damn ROBOT. Do you know how fucking cool that is?" she gasped before pulling out of her parents' arms. "I think I need to lie down."

"Sam, she's going into shock," Mikaela whimpered before helping guide her first born over to her bed. "We should get her to Ratchet. The hospital would be too risky."

"Ratchet?" Lori asked, her voice absent. "Ratchet and Clank was a good game, Pops. Those devs from your era knew their shit."

"Language, Lori," Sam spoke quietly as he headed for the door. He had to go check on the Autobots, and see what Optimus wanted to do. He knew the Autobot leader had most likely already contacted the Secretary of Defense, and possibly General Lennox. So then it was only a matter of time till more help arrived to try and cover up what happened here. "Stay with Lori, Miky."

Mikaela sent her husband and admonishing glance. As if she'd ever think of leaving her poor child alone. Fully aware that Jason, her youngest, was still looming over the hole in Lori's wall she called out to him. The little boy darted to her side and helped ease Lori onto her bed.

"Were those robots, Mama?" his young boyish voice chimed as he struggled to climb onto Lori's bed. The mattress was much higher than he could easily manage, but Mikaela let him struggle on his own. The boy had always hated when his parents tried to help him on things he felt he should be able to do.

"Yeah, Jason, obviously," Lori muttered as she covered her face with a pillow.

"Can we keep them?"

Sam was silent as he moved through his dark house. Apparently, he wasn't as safe within the confines of the house as he had once thought. Even with an Autobot guardian and a security system to equal that of the White House, his family had still been attacked on their own territory. His house wasn't safe. Then was anyplace?

"Sam," Bumblebee's voice was full of sorrow and concern as Sam stepped through his front door and onto his front lawn. "Sam, is she all right?"

"Yeah, Bee," Sam whispered and ran a caressing hand along the little Autobot's hood. "It's okay."

"Sam, if Ironhide had not been there…"

"Yeah, Bee, I know. I'd be scraping my daughter's remains off the pavement," a shudder went through both their bodies at Sam's words. "I'm gonna talk to Optimus, I think…"

"Sam?"

"Yeah, Bee?"

"I'm sorry. That I argued about going to college with Lori," the Autobot's voice was cold and distant as he spoke. "I was…I was being selfish. The safety of your progeny is as much a concern to me as you are. I apologize."

Sam patted the yellow Camaro. "It's okay."

His legs carried him from the now silent car in his driveway towards the GMC Topkick half parked on his front lawn. The headlights flared in greeting before dying off. "Yo, human."

Sam looked up and down the road, watching as one by one people filtered from their homes to observe the damage on the street. Suddenly the idea of throwing his arms around the grill of the huge truck in front of him seemed like a stupid idea. "Ironhide…"

"No need to say anything," the truck sounded grumpy. "I lost a good shot at Starscream."

Chuckling weakly, Sam moved on to the semi truck parked on the side of the road by his mail box. He wasn't at all surprised when the cab door swung slowly open. Sam knew Optimus wanted to talk, and you never said no to the Autobot. He climbed into the cab as quickly as his stiff body would let him and slammed the door closed behind him.

"William is on the way with a clean up crew," Optimus Prime's voice was a booming presence on the inside of the cab. The giant robot had an equally awe inspiring presence in his truck form as he was in his more robotic shape, and his voice made sure Sam didn't forget what exactly he was dealing with. "The Secretary of Defense is also on his way, he will meet us at the Autobot compound."

"Us?" Sam knew what Optimus was saying, but he really didn't want to admit it.

"You and your family are to be relocated to the compound until both I and the Secretary see fit," Optimus explained. "General Lennox and his family will also be moved into quarters there, along with the remnants of his crew, and any others that have aided us in the battle with Megatron."

Jesus. Sam didn't realize exactly how big the Autobots compound was until that moment. Construction on their new temporary home had began almost immediately after the battle with Megatron ended on the insistence of the Sec Def and even the President of the United States. Ever since then, the Autobots had been working endlessly to expand and perfect their compound. "It never does to keep your base of operations mobile," Optimus had told Sam when he discovered what the robots were up to out in the middle of the desert. "We need a place to stay and act as our safe hold."

"Lor—Lori needs to see a doctor," Sam stuttered, something he hadn't done since he was seventeen. "She's really beat up."

"Ratchet is aware and waiting for our arrival," Optimus reassured him. "Sam, you should go pack. Grab anything you need. And Sam…"

The hesitance in the robot's voice made Sam frown. "What, big guy?"

"Bumblebee told us you fought. Over him leaving with Lori."

Sam sighed in exasperation and slammed his head on the giant steering wheel in front of him. Unsurprisingly, the horn remained silent even as he banged his head again. "Look, I feel like shit for trying to make him go, Prime. But I don't regret it. I was right about it, look at what happened tonight!"

"I did not mean to come off that way," Optimus interrupted. "He feels horrible about it. He won't stop moaning over our communications network."

Sam swore over and over again. "I told him it was okay, Optimus! I mean come on; I understand perfectly where he was coming from trying to argue not going. He—he couldn't have known what happened tonight would—you know? None of us thought it'd happen. I mean we always worried, but—!"

"I know, Sam."

Those three simple words were enough to sap Sam of his frustration. He had been just as upset with Bumblebee as Bee was with him over their argument up until now. The Autobot had been fierce in trying to deny Sam his request, and Sam had been just as aggressive in trying to force the robot to go. Bumblebee had been appalled that Sam had wanted him to go, especially considering the kind of relationship they had together. And then there was the fact that Bee hardly knew Lori half as well as Sam, and the fact that in a little under thirty years Bee had never left Sam's side. Sam had a sinking suspicion that now that Lori had been attacked, though, that Bee would do anything to make sure she was safe. "Thanks, Optimus…"

"Go," the robot's voice was oddly warm and comforting as the cab door swung open again. Sam jumped down nimbly and into a new world. Black GMC trucks were pulling up on the demolished streets, windows black tinted and bumpers missing license plates. Men in black suits and ties were emptying from them and moving confidently from one of the street's inhabitants to the next, firing off questions and spitting out excuses. "Gather your family, Sam. We will leave immediately."

**XXXX**

Lori felt incredibly awkward sitting in the driver's seat of the Camaro with her dad in the passenger seat beside her. One, she had never been in the same car with her dad in which he wasn't the driver, especially in his Camaro. And two, the Camaro was a fucking robot. And that robot would not let her drive, despite Lori sitting at the wheel. She watched, absolutely amazed, as the wheel turned itself and the car turned off of the highway.

"Can…can he hear us?" she asked finally. It had been a long drive from Tranquility, one that her and her father had sat in silence. Even the dysfunctional radio hadn't played a single song to fill the monotony.

"Yes," a disembodied, raspy voice answered her. Lori jumped in surprised and looked around the cab.

"Can you see us too?"

"Affirmative."

Swearing, Lori gently placed her hands on the steering wheel. "And…and what about this?"

"Yeah, he can feel it," Sam muttered and squirmed in his chair. It discomforted him to see his daughter practically feeling up Bee's interior much in the same way Sam had when he first posed the Autobot with the whole "feeling" question.

Lori simply swore some more before folding her hands in her lap. "Oh dear."

His daughter was still shocked with the whole situation, but Sam was glad to see that she was handling it pretty well. She might still be jumpy around the bots, but at least she hadn't feinted yet, which Ironhide had insisted she would.

Bumblebee's engine revved experimentally, and the radio turned on with a soft click. "_And that's just a fraction of the main attraction,_" Sam groaned as he recognized the song immediately, "_You need a friendly hand, oh I need action. Touch-a touch-a touch-a me, I wanna be dirty-_"

"Bee!" Sam kicked out at the dashboard as Lori erupted with laughter. Even the car seemed to let out a sound that resembled a chuckle. "Not funny, Bee."

"I thought it was cute," Lori gasped between laughs.

"As did I," Bumblebee's voice was smug. "Estimated time of arrival is twenty-five minutes, Sam."

"You know," Lori turned to her father, "you never told me where we were going. Just that we were going to see this 'Ratchet.'"

"Oh, you will like Ratchet," Bumblebee's voice chimed in. The robot almost sounded cheerful. "He is a good Autobot."

"Another one?" Lori's eyebrows shot up to her hairline. "Dad, seriously, your friends are kickass. How come I was never told?"

"Your mother and I thought it wouldn't be a good idea," Sam started slowly. He clamped a hand over his daughter's mouth as her expression turned to anger and she opened her maw to argue. "At least not when you were little," he added hurriedly. "Lennox's daughter knew since she was a baby, and she used to go to school trying to brag over Ironhide. Knowing you when you were little, you would've hijacked Bumblebee and tried to use him in show and tell."

When Lori looked like she wasn't going to fight back, Sam lowered his hand and sighed again. "We were going to tell you. Having you take Bumblebee to Chicago with you was supposed to, you know, introduce you two."

"It was a good plan," Bumblebee chimed in once again. Sam was certain his robot's mood had finally turned for the better as the radio clicked on to a soft rock oldie's station.

"Until Starscream showed up," Sam nodded in agreement. "A very good plan, indeed. I was going to have you take him for a ride, you see—"

"And I was going to take over and really take _you_ for a ride," the radio clicked stations to play, "_From the day to the night we ride, we ride, we ride._"

Lori shook her head slowly. "Okay. So I forgive you. So I mean…how did…? How did you two meet? Or whatever."

And so Sam spent the remaining time of the ride reciting the story of how Sam and Bumblebee had met. Every now and then Bee would come in to add a detail that Sam forgot, or correct him on some parts of the battle that Sam never really understood. In the end, it left Sam's unruly daughter quite struck.

"My dad saved the planet," she had said simply as Bumblebee turned his radio up louder. The Autobot was cycling through one station to the next, trying to find something that he liked. "Who woulda thunk it."

Sam frowned. "Well go ahead and act like you don't believe me, really, it wouldn't hurt my feels."

"No offense, dad, but you're the least likely person on the planet to save it, seriously," Lori eyed him over. "I totally want to get another look at your high school yearbooks. Maybe all those years out of school made you slim down."

"God, I hate football players," Sam grumbled to himself as Bumblebee came to an abrupt halt. The little Autobot had been bumping and bouncing over what could hardly be called a road that led out into the middle of the Nevada desert.

"We're here," Bee exclaimed proudly.

"Here where?" Lori snorted as she leaned over the steering wheel. "We're in the middle of nowhere."

"That is what Sam has decided to dub our base," Bee's voice was still cheerful despite Lori's scrutiny. "Nowhere, USA."

Sam sighed and twisted back in his seat, just as Ironhide came to a halt behind Bee. Optimus, who had been bringing up the year, easily shifted out of his truck form. "I guess Optimus has the doorbell."

Lori glared at the road that she could see in front of Bumblebee. It simply disappeared right into the center of a sand dune. All around them she saw sand, sand, and even more sand. "You've got to be kidding me. Are we expected to like, camp out here? We didn't even bring any tents. And there's…no…water?" Lori fell silent, jaw hanging open uselessly, as the dune started to shift in front of them.

"We dug a well for our human inhabitants," Bumblebee reassured her as a giant hangar door slowly opened out of the sand. "You will find it quite comfortable. None of the humans complain anymore."

She was still gaping when Bumblebee lurched back into motion and drove right into the gaping maw of the hangar. Humans were scurrying everywhere between the legs of giant Autobots as if the world were about to end. The Autobots themselves were calm and collected as they went about their business, their optics trained on the floor to avoid stepping on any of their smaller comrades.

"Oh dear…" Lori whimpered as a particularly scary looking Autobot narrowly missed trodding on a little man in a mechanic's jumpsuit. So when Lori's door swung open on its own accord, she was particularly hesitant to step out.

"Lori and Sam Witwicky."

She looked up. And up. And up. And stared at a yellow robot looming over her. "Hi."

The robot gave her what could barely pass as a smile. "I have been waiting. If you would be so kind as to follow me, I will have you diagnosed in a heartbeat and begin treatment immediately."

Lori was vaguely aware of Bumblebee making those odd shifting and metallic noises, knowing fully well that when she turned there would be another giant robot staring at her. "Okay," she whispered hoarsely.

The strange Autobot looked at her for a moment. "Odd. My sensors are not showing any damage to your vocal cords, yet your voice does not seem right."

"She is a bit shocked, Ratchet," Bumblebee spoke from high over Lori's head.

"Ah. That explains it," Ratchet nodded and turned abruptly. "This way, and do watch who you step under."

* * *

Hm. I wasn't as happy with this one as the last two, but ah well. I had to have a part that got me from Point A to Point B, and I thought it worked out okay. Yes, I'm aware Lennox wasn't a General in the movie. But damnit, it's been twenty-some odd years. The man is destined to get a promotion some time!

Also, thank you for all the feedback everyone! And thanks for correcting me on a couple spelling errors and typos. I'll go through and fix the older chapters as soon as I'm able.

Songs used:

Rocky Horror Picture Show--Toucha Toucha Toucha Me (Otherwise known as Creature of the Night)

Mary J. Blige--We Ride


	4. Chapter 4

Title: Here We Go Now

Chapter: 3 of ?

Author: Minishini

Ratings: PG-13 says I. There's cursing, and not much else in this installment.

Pairings: Sam x Mikaela, Sam x Mikaela x Bumblebee, Ratchet x Annabelle

Summary: It's been twenty-four years since the battle to save earth. Sam and Mikaela are happily married, and have their only little family to care for. Their eldest daughter, Lori, is about to depart for college when shit hits the fan.

Author's Notes: I realize that Lennox is a Captain in the movie, but remember that it's been 24 years, and the man is destined to get a promotion some time.

Disclaimer: Transformers and all that jazz is not mine, I wasn't even born when it was created, and therefore I claim no rights to any of it. So don't sue me, I'm a poor college student. Lori and Jason Witwicky, and Max Lennox are mine, however. So please do not use them unless you ask and are given permission in return. I also don't own the rights to any songs I use, they belong to their respective…people.

* * *

"Ratchet is very proud of his facilities," Sam Witwicky whispered in his daughter's ear. Lori was currently preoccupied ogling a team of humans helping a green tow truck back into what appeared to be a giant examination table. A dull metallic form, something Lori thought could have been an Autobot, lay in the bed of the truck. "He claims it's almost up to par with what he had on Cybertron. Minus the humans."

"The humans are an immense help, I must admit," the Autobot medic rumbled from far over their heads. "I'm afraid I'm too large to properly work on your kind, but your human doctors are proving more than capable of handling it themselves. Even with their primitive medicines," he snorted. "It still amazes me that _homo sapiens_ are able to treat themselves by mashing up plants…"

"Ratchet, there you are!"

Lori squeaked in alarm as the Autobot hurried over to a small woman wearing scrubs. He squatted down awkwardly so that the woman didn't have to crane her neck to glower at him. She was cradling a toddler against one hip, a glare firmly fixed on her face. "You left Max with _Hoist_? How could you do that?"

"Well, Annabelle," the Autobot started nervously. Lori watched on, bewildered, at the sight of a robot so large being cowed by a tiny woman. "I received an emergency call from Optimus, and I had to handle it…"

"I was gone for five hours, Ratchet," she huffed. "All you had to do was watch him!"

"Belle," the Autobot groaned and cast a wary look over his shoulder. "Not now, please."

Annabelle Lennox looked past Ratchet towards Sam and Lori Witwicky, and her frown only deepened. Bumblebee was trying not to snicker from behind the two humans. "Oh I will do this anytime I please. You know Hoist; he's so awkward around humans he would have probably run over Max just to keep him from crying!"

"Fine, fine, I'm sorry," Ratchet grumbled and glared at Bumblebee, who immediately turned away to hide a laugh. "I'm with a patient, Belle."

"Bumblebee looks fine," the woman snapped and shifted the little toddler to her other hip.

"Not Bee," Ratchet turned optics back to the woman and her boy. His sensors scanned over them both to reassure him that they were in peak physical condition. If there was any change in his family's condition, he wanted to be fully aware of it. "Lori Witwicky. There was an incident—"

"Oh!" and the woman completely bypassed the huge robot and headed straight for the teenage girl. "Lori!"

Lori was still busy trying to fit her mind around the fact that Annabelle had been chewing out a giant robot.

"Belle, she had an encounter with Starscream, please do not put too much strain on my patient!" Ratchet rumbled as he followed the little woman.

Annabelle shot him another glare. "I'll take care of her then. You, however, are going to be a proper papa today." And Lori watch, stunned, as Annabelle offered the robot the little toddler.

Ratchet's whole frame heaved with a sigh as he gently took the boy, much to the human's delight. "Papa!" it giggled and snuggled into Ratchet's mammoth hands.

"She has several lacerations on her arms and legs, and minor bruising on her ribs," the Autobot muttered as he cradled the boy against his huge chest. "She is handling the situation well, but I am worried she will develop post-traumatic stress."

Annabelle flapped a dismissive hand at the robot and took Lori by the elbow. "It's almost Max's nap time." Ratchet muttered as he straightened out, the boy squealing with delight in his arms, and turned to oversee the transition of the tow truck's load to the exam table. "For someone so eager to have a baby, he sure is reluctant to take care of him!" she sniffed and directed Lori towards an Autobot-sized door in the side of the enormous sickbay. "We take care of our human patients through here. We'll get you all cleaned up and fed and make sure everything is working all right."

"Buh?" Lori craned her neck around to watch Ratchet. The Autobot was now gently tossing the toddler up in the air and catching him. Max, Annabelle's son, seemed to enjoy the activity immensely.

Annabelle smiled as she caught what Lori was gaping at. "Ratchet tries hard to be a proper husband to me, even despite our differences. He insisted we had a sperm-bank baby. I couldn't let him down, now could I?"

Lori was utterly bewildered as the woman led her through the human side of the make shift hospital. Privacy curtains broke the entire room into little cubicles, one of which Annabelle was taking her to.

"I don't know why they even bother with curtains," Annabelle rambled. "It isn't feasible for us to put ones up that even the Autobots couldn't see over, so patients really don't get much privacy if their being treated by Ratchet." She paused to toss a glare at Sam, who had tried to follow them into the circle of curtains. "If I'm not mistaken, Ironhide is still with your family and attempting to help them settle into their quarters. You should go help Mikaela. Besides, this is girl time now."

Sam and Bumblebee exchanged a quiet look.

"_Now._"

They both grumbled like chastised children as they turned to leave.

"I swear, they've both become such worry worts," huffed the human doctor as she sat Lori down firmly on an exam table. "Let's see those cuts!"

Lori proffered one arm as she stared at Annabelle in confusion. "You and…and Ratchet? Married?"

"Oh, I know it sounds incredulous," the woman beamed as she snapped on a pair of gloves. Her hands were quick and efficient as she took Lori's arm, inspecting the cuts and scratches that coated her limb. She _tsk_'ed and turned to rummage through a medicine cabinet bolted to the floor. "Of course, the ceremony was a bit difficult to manage. My dad had to get a marriage license through the military, then somehow work it out so there'd be no records…I don't know, it's all so confusing and I don't have much mind for details," she said cheerfully.

"They can love?" Lori was absolutely awed.

Annabelle cast her a sharp, disapproving glance. "Of course. They're sentient, aren't they? It's only natural that they can feel emotions. Or else I'm sure Bumblebee and your father wouldn't be attached at the hip. Although they don't necessary feel the same way as we do… It's a bit difficult to explain."

"And…and Max?" Lori had always been under the impression that Annabelle's son was just a bastard baby. It was what her parents had told her since they got the news from General Lennox. And Lori was certain that a boyfriend, husband, or fiancé had never been mentioned in the same sentence as Annabelle's name.

"Like I said, sperm bank baby. His father was donor number eight-six-zero-zero-three, a doctor. Naturally," she giggled and returned her attention back to Lori's arms. She worked as she talked, explaining how she and Ratchet had finally said to hell with the world and decided they were meant to be life partners. "My dad wasn't happy," she murmured and went to work on Lori's other arm. "He wanted me to marry someone who at least didn't use to help take care of me as a baby. He thinks Ratchet stole me from the cradle. And Ironhide…I won't even get started on him."

Lori's brain was definitely going to have a field day trying to make all of this fit in her head. So far in less than twelve hours she had to endure her room exploding around her, a giant alien robot trying to kidnap her, getting mixed up in the middle of a robot versus robot death match, nearly falling to her death, and then coping with the fact that her dad's Camaro was an alien robot to boot. Now she had to add Annabelle's relationship with Ratchet to that list. How could Lori have not noticed something like this? She'd known Lennox's only child since she was a baby.

And all her brain could think of to spit out was, "How come I wasn't invited to the wedding?"

Annabelle laughed and clapped her on the shoulder. "Ratchet was right; you do seem to be showing early stages of PTSD. Hopefully it won't last terribly long. You'll get used to things. Just think of it this way: you've known at least two of the Autobots all your life: Bumblebee and Ironhide. They haven't changed at all; they're still a kickass Camaro and a truck. Only…they can think."

Lori stared at her bandaged arms.

"How are your ribs?"

"It hurts to breathe too deeply," she murmured. She was busy trying to rack her brain for all her memories of Bumblebee. Now that she actually knew the truth about the 2008 Camaro, and actually looked harder at all the awkward events that happened around it, it all seemed to make blindingly obvious sense. There had been a time when she was little that Sam had almost been in an accident, but miraculously the car had narrowly avoided being side swiped by a truck—even though Sam's hands hadn't been on the steering wheel. And then there was the haywire radio, always playing songs that seemed to fit a particular moment. And the times Lori had caught her dad out in the garage at night talking to the thing. Or when the car disappeared even though her mom and dad were home.

Bumblebee… All her life the robot had been hidden right under her nose. All those times she had climbed into the passenger seat or horse played in the back seat with her brother, the robot had been fully aware of it. He could feel it, see it, hear it. He could think about it. Quietly, he watched over Lori's life as she had grown from a bawling baby brat to a young woman. Lori didn't know whether to be comforted at the idea or disturbed. But either way, it oddly didn't bother her as much as she thought it would. After all, he never snitched on her when she used to sneak out of the house and take Bumblebee out to parties with her friends. She had to thank him for that.

"They will for a few days," Annabelle eyed Lori's ribs. "There's no point in getting them wrapped up until you get a shower. But you should later tonight. It'll help pad them a bit and give you some support. I'll send some wraps over to your quarters."

At Annabelle's words, Lori was suddenly aware that she was absolutely filthy. Dirt and dry wall still powdered her pajamas, which she had been too much in a daze to change out of. Dried blood had stained her pants and caked parts of her arms and face. She didn't even want to know what her hair looked like.

"Come on," Annabelle stood from a stool she had perched on. Offering a hand to Lori, she smiled reassuringly. "We'll go get you a nice hot shower and some food."

Lori was quiet as she took Annabelle's hand. At least the older woman's incessant rambling had helped her feel better about things.

**XXXX**

Sam sighed as he lay flat on his back in Bee's back seat. The yellow Autobot was absently switching through radio stations, engine rumbling cheerfully. He was parked in the exact center of a large room built to house an Autobot. Despite the stasis bed snug against one corner of the room, he had chosen to revert to his car form for the night. Habits were hard to break, and Bee hadn't slept in a stasis bed for…well, a very long time.

"Have you heard anything from Optimus, Bee?" Sam finally spoke up.

The radio flickered to quote some commercial, "_its quiet…too quiet._"

Figures. As soon as Mikaela and Sam had been shown their new quarters, Optimus had disappeared with another Autobot, one Sam recognized as Prowl, the Autobots' military strategist and analyst. "I've been thinking…"

The radio clicked to play an exaggerated suspense sound effect.

"Now that the Decepticons have made their move, it's not safe for Lori to go off to college," Sam tried to fight back the joy he felt at not having to be separated from his daughter quite yet. "So you know…there'd be no reason for you and me to get separated either. She'd have to stay here until this whole thing blew over."

The radio fell silent before Bumblebee's disembodied voice answered. "I am not so sure that is a wise option, Sam. We do not yet know what the Decepticons plan, or how long the battle will take this time. The war is never over between us. We have been fighting it for centuries of your time."

Sam frowned and sat up. "Well we can't let her put herself into danger. She's already enrolled at the school, so she'll be in their databases. If one of the Decepticons decided to try and track her down again she'd be so easy to find. And I'm _not_ putting her in danger again!"

"Sam, you can not hope to keep her cooped up in our facilities and continue to dote over her for the rest of your life. She is a young woman, and young women of both our species have a rebellious independence streak at this time in their lives," Bumblebee stated matter of fact. "She will hate you for keeping her here."

"She'd understand when she grew up," Sam glared at the radio, even though he knew that's not where Bee's interior optics or sensors were. But since the stupid thing acted as his voice box, Sam opted to glare at it anyway. "She'll understand that I'm trying to protect her."

"She is already grown, Sam," Bumblebee's voice softened. "She has matured, and she may very well understand your motives already. But she will not appreciate it nonetheless. She will want to prove that she can take care of herself. And if that is the case, I will more than gladly go with her. General Lennox and Optimus will undoubtedly think of a way to hide her presence at any school or location she chooses to go to."

And at that, the radio clicked back on to a more modern rock station. Sam knew that it was meant to be Bee's way of telling the human the conversation was over, but Sam was far from being done. "Just last week you were pissed off at me for wanting you to go. Now you're more than ready to leave. What the hell changed?"

Off went the radio. "I have realized I was being childish. I did not want to leave because I love you and Mikaela. It was not until the incident with Starscream that I realized I love Lori and Jason just as much. Now that you are in the hands of the Autobots and staying at Nowhere, I have no reason to worry about your safety. But if Lori decides she would like to go to college despite all that has happened I am ready and willing to accompany her as her guardian, as I once guarded you."

Funny, Sam thought absently, how one little event could change your perspective so radically. While Bumblebee had changed his feelings towards going with Lori, now Sam wanted both of them to stay. Here. With him. He didn't want either of them striking off away from the safety of the Autobot base by themselves. "Bee—"

"No, Sam," the Autobot interrupted. "I have decided. If Lori opts to go, I will go with her. If there is anyone you wish to persuade, it should be her."

Sam fell quiet and stared down at Bee's leather seats. He knew the Autobot was right, Bumblebee was rarely wrong. But still, he didn't like the thought one bit. Bumblebee was his best friend; he was his and Mikaela's secret love. And Lori, well, she was his daughter. His own flesh and blood. Mikaela would rip Sam and Bumblebee apart if anything happened to her.

But Bee, unfortunately, was right. Lori was going through a critical time of her life. Hell, she was just entering that period that would determine how the rest of her life went. She should be out in the world, learning how it worked and operated on her own. She should be experiencing her independence, and getting an education to help her on that path. Did Sam really have a right to take that from her?

Bumblebee's engine revved and snapped Sam out of his thoughts. "I am young for Autobot standards," he started slowly, almost as if he were ashamed to admit what he was saying. "When I was recruited for the cause, I was what humans would consider an adolescent. I am not much older than Lori in Cybertronian years. Jazz…Jazz was not too happy about it. Neither was Ironhide. They treated me as a little brother and a robot to be guarded and looked after. It was a very frustrating time of my life. I felt as if everyone was holding me back from realizing the potential I had."

"Bee…"

The engine rumbled again in agitation. "I was a youngling, and I was treated as such. There were so few of us left that everyone was too scared to make the best of me in our war. Slag it, even Optimus was wary to put me in the field."

"Bee," Sam broke in, "I didn't know—"

"So when we were finally forced from Cybertron into the reaches of space, and Optimus sent us off to investigate certain solar systems, I was elated. I finally had a chance to stretch my wings, as you would say. Despite all the battles I had fought in, I still felt as if I had not proved myself to the older Autobots. Jazz and Ironhide still fussed over me, and went out of their way to protect me in battles. Ratchet was scrupulous in repairing me. This was my chance. Coming to earth was my chance."

They both fell silent, before Bee's radio flipped on to white static. Sam watched as the radio dial moved from one station to the next, his hands absently stroking the leather he sat on. Finally, Bee settled on a rap station. "_Blessed by the god so be the Earths, Queen Bee bitch poppa keep me rich in gun tottin' keep floatin' in them automobiles_," the station switched suddenly to another that was playing the exact song at a different time, "_It's my time to shine, been down for much too long. I've gotta get mine._"

Sam continued stroking the warm leather of Bee's back seat as the robot fell silent. After a long pause, he finally spoke up again. "I will not keep Lori back against her will, Sam. I will not support that."

More silence. Until Sam replied, "I understand, Bee. I'm sorry."

The engine purred as Bumblebee shuddered on the spot. Sam kept petting his interior, knowing that the Autobot needed the touch as much as Sam needed to touch him. Sam knew when his best friend was unsettled and upset. It was only right that he tried his best to comfort the giant robot.

"Sam," Mikaela's voice broke the silence in Bumblebee's new room. She was holding the human-sized door built into the Autobot-sized one open. Behind her, Sam could just barely make out a familiar uniformed figure. "Will is here."

"Sam," the man grinned mischievously as Mikaela stepped aside. "It's been a while."

Sam clambered out of Bee's back seat to greet General Lennox. "Yeah, it has," he spoke as they exchanged firm handshakes. Sam winked as he spotted the extra star on each of Lennox's shoulder lapels. "Another promotion?"

"Four star, now," Lennox stood straighter and puffed out his chest proudly. "I now only answer to the president when it comes to the Autobots."

"Have you talked to Optimus?" Sam asked abruptly. The smile wiped right off of Lennox's face as he took off his cap.

"Yeah, Sam," he spoke slowly. "What both our resources have found out…it's not pretty."

* * *

Woo, there's your fourth installment. Autobots Hoist and Prowl made their first cameos, along with Annabelle and Will Lennox! Sarah Lennox and Ironhide shall have some fun in the next chapter, and Bee and Lori have a heart felt convo.

As always, comments and reviews are always much appreciated, as long as any constructive criticism and punctuation and grammatical corrections!

Just one song used this time:

Li'l Kim : Time to Shine


	5. Chapter 5

Title: Here We Go Now

Chapter: 5 of ?

Author: Minishini

Ratings: PG-13 says I. Just foul words, again.

Pairings: Mikaela x Sam

Summary: It's been twenty-four years since the battle to save earth. Sam and Mikaela are happily married, and have their only little family to care for. Their eldest daughter, Lori, is about to depart for college when shit hits the fan.

Author's Notes: Things are still a little slow at this time in the story. It's still relatively peace time despite the attack from Starscream. But I took out a lot of filler plot bunnies to help pick things up a bit (besides, none of them were really important to the plot). And as always, thanks for all the great feed back! And extra thanks go out to the SamXBee and TF2007Fun communities over at Liverjournal for feeding my odd hunger for Transformers movie verse fan fiction (and for giving me little plot bunnies to run away with).

Disclaimer: Transformers and all that jazz is not mine, I wasn't even born when it was created, and therefore I claim no rights to any of it. So don't sue me, I'm a poor college student. Lori and Jason Witwicky, and Max Lennox are mine, however. So please do not use them unless you ask and are given permission in return. I also don't own the rights to any songs I use, they belong to their respective owners.

* * *

Lori Witwicky was one very pissed off girl. So pissed off that she was busy throwing every article of clothing she had in her possession into her suitcase. "Absolutely ridiculous," she spat and dumped out her lingerie drawer over the suitcase. Her mother, Mikaela Witwicky, was frowning from where she stood in the door way.

"Lori, you know they're only doing it for your protection…" she started slowly. Her daughter shared the same temper Mikaela had in her younger years. Motherhood, thankfully, had calmed her down immensely.

"You know, Mom," Lori paused in her packing and looked up at the ceiling, feigning contemplation. "With all the things they're doing to try to protect me, I'm surprised no one's shot me already to save everyone the trouble." And back she went to violently emptying her dresser. She had finally gotten settled in at the Transformers compound, Nowhere, and was expecting another week or two of peaceful living until she was given the all clear to head off to her school in Chicago—even though she'd be two weeks late for freshmen move-in day. But now… Ugh.

"Baby, they can't just let you go romping off after…after what happened," Mikaela moved forward and began picking things out of her daughter's suitcase. She refolded them neatly and began making piles of clothes that had similar shapes. Her daughter would be thanking her for it when she went to unpack in Minnesota. "Your name was in the school's computer, and we don't know if—"

"Exactly!" Lori threw up her arms in frustration and sat heavily on the edge of her bed. "You guys don't know for sure! Mom," Lori paused and gazed up at her mom, her eyes watery and brimming with withheld tears. "Mom, I've wanted to go to that school since…since I was in _junior high._ And now I'm…I'm not even going to a school that offers the same program. They enrolled me in a school in the middle of _nowhere_ in a damn medical program!"

Mikaela had to turn her gaze away from her daughter. She had always hated seeing either of her children so stressed and upset, and Lori had every right to be. Mikaela and Lori had taken trips up to Chicago over her breaks in school just to take tours of the college. Everyone in the family had known where she'd be going when she graduated high school. And now her daughter's dreams were dashed on the rocks in only a few short hours.

"Isn't there anything you can do?" Lori's voice cracked as it took on a begging tone.

"Lori," Mikaela started softly as she set down a skirt she had been folding. Sitting down next to her daughter, Mikaela took one of her hands. The stark white bandage that still wrapped it reminded her exactly why she was forced to break her daughter's heart. "I wouldn't if I could, hunny."

Lori took her hand back and looked away in disappointment.

"We have no people in Chicago, as stupid as that is," Mikaela admitted. "If…if the Decepticons decided to attack your school anyway, thinking that we enrolled you in a different name… There would be no help. Bumblebee would have to protect you on his own."

"Bumblebee is perfectly capable—"

"I know, hunny. Bumblebee is a great Autobot, he's really strong," Mikaela smiled warmly as she thought back to the battle twenty-four years past. Bumblebee had fought like a banshee and had been just as stubborn not to give up as Mikaela had been, even when he lost his legs. "But we can't take chances. If he was injured there would be no one to help him. If something happened that he couldn't handle alone…"

Lori heaved with a huge sigh before wiping at her eyes. "I suppose I should just grow up already about it," she muttered. She reached past her mother to grab a wadded up T-shirt and began to refold it. Oddly enough it helped calm her beating heart and wracked nerves. "At least I'm going to college."

_You really have no idea, _Mikaela thought, _how close it came to you not going at all._

"I'm still pissed no one will tell me what's going on, though," Lori pouted stubbornly and discarded the T-shirt into one of Mikaela's piles. Both women began to unpack her clothes and fold them neatly. Lori possibly, very _possibly_, could put up with the idea that she'd be giving up her dreams and becoming a doctor—if the Autobots would tell her what everyone was so tense over.

After her first night at Nowhere she had noticed the change in her robot comrades. While the Autobots had been active and going about their business with a sense of purpose the day before, now they had seemed thoroughly depressed. There were no teams of people bustling about one robot or another as they worked on some part of the compound or a particular project. Now the humans were taking a break while the much larger Cybertronians sulked and lounged wherever the saw fit. Lori had bad encounters with particularly grumpy robots all week, two of which had been Prowl and Bumblebee himself.

When she finally stormed up to her dad, General Lennox, and Optimus Prime conversing over the head table in the dining hall and demanded what was going on, they had simply looked from one to the other before speaking. Optimus Prime had started off by politely explaining to her that whatever the Autobots and the US military were plotting was none of her business, and he did so in such a way that left Lori feeling guilty for even asking. How he did it, she'd never know. Just that it pissed her off later that night.

And then her dad had told her to take a seat next to him. Lennox politely excused himself from the table to go sit with his family at that moment. "Lori," her dad had started, "You're leaving to go to college in Minnesota tomorrow. Start packing."

Lori had raised three kinds of hell before Bumblebee had picked her up and literally carried her off to her quarters. And he wouldn't tell her a damn thing either. So, Lori had decided, if they were going to be like this, then she was leaving tonight. Screw waiting for sunrise. She didn't want to be here if they weren't going to include her in anything. She'd just obediently run off to college out of everyone's way like they wanted. She'd have nothing to do with whatever Optimus, Lennox, and Prowl whispered about over dinner.

"They can't, hunny," Mikaela's voice was gentle. "It's all Top Secret, and the less you know about it the better. Hell," Mikaela frowned, "they won't even tell me."

Lori sniffed and began to repack all of her neatly folded clothes. She was a bit surprised that when she was done, she still had plenty of empty room.

**XXXX**

Bumblebee's radio clicked to life as he came to a stop in a long gravel driveway. He found a song that would suit his purposes almost immediately and gradually increased the volume in the radio as the intro played. He had to suppress a snicker as the first lyrics snapped Lori out of her deep sleep, "_Attention, attention, could I have all your eyes and ears to the front of the room and forward, to hear what I have to say,_" the speakers vibrated in Bumblebee's frame at the volume.

"Damn it, Bee! I'm up!" she snapped grumpily and smacked the dashboard with the heel of one hand. Bee's engine revved as he lowered the volume abruptly until the song was only a feint murmur.

"We are here. You've been sleeping the past few hours. Are you all right?" his optics sharpened in to focus on the girl's brown eyes. Red veins cracked through the white of her eyes before she closed them and let out a huge yawn.

"We've been driving for hours, Bee, you can't expect me to stay awake the whole time," she mumbled and tugged at the door handle. When it refused to budge, she sat back in the passenger seat and frowned at his rearview mirror. "Well? What now?"

"Do not forget to call Sam," Bee's voice was amused as the girl rolled her eyes. "He will worry until you do."

"He'll worry anyway. Can I at least get settled in before calling him? I haven't even stepped foot in the house," Lori looked over Bee's hood to star at the tiny house sitting snug in a small forest clearing. She twisted around in his seat to stare back over the driveway they had come up on, and swore. There were no other houses around. Just trees, trees, more trees, and some bushes. "Middle of nowhere," she muttered.

"The closest neighbor is only ten minutes away," Bumblebee hummed. "I like this place."

"There's nothing around, Bee," she whined and tried to pry open the door again. This time it swung open freely and she stumbled out. She was only slightly surprised when she turned back to Bumblebee to find him in the middle of his transformation.

"Seclusion means privacy," his optics turned up in distinct happiness. "And more freedom."

"And less clubbing," Lori smiled despite herself as the robot stretched out. She could hear his individual parts clicking and whirring as he moved, and silently she awed that the place was so quiet.

Bee came to an abrupt halt as his body went rigid near the height of his stretch. "Oops," his optics lidded and he scratched his head. One hand disappeared into the folds of his yellow plating and emerged shortly after. When he set Lori's suitcase down on the ground, crushed and broken, he chuckled nervously. "I forgot."

Lori looked between him and the suitcase. "Remind me never to try and sit in you when you transform."

"Please do, I would hate to get new upholstery," the hand disappeared again to extract a stray article of clothing. Bee deposited a pair of Lori's panties on top of the suitcase while his radio played a short comedy sound effect. "Sam took me to an auto shop once. It was not a pleasant experience."

Sighing, Lori grabbed up her suitcase and turned to head to the small house while Bumblebee went off to explore his new home. It was just her luck that she'd get saddled with a panty-thieving robot. She kicked sulkily at the clumps of grass in the driveway all the way up to the door, fuming and muttering the whole way.

Bumblebee's sensors were trained on her the entire time, even though his optics were busy assessing the surrounding woods. The tree coverage was thick, so far as to obscure anything beyond thirty feet from where Bee stood. He was fully aware of a wide assortment of wildlife going about their business—deer browsed through the undergrowth while smaller creatures scurried about. A bear was snuffling through the remains of a decaying log not much further away. He could feel the currents of the house's amenities coursing in the ground under his feet. The plumbing lines would need work soon, but the cable and electric were up to par with his standards.

One of Bee's sensors went off to alert him that his human was now in distress. He double checked the readings to make sure she wasn't just sulking again before turning his infrared onto the house. Lori Witwicky's form was running from one room to the next, her internal temperature rising slowly. Apparently something was wrong with the house. So Bumblebee turned his attentions from the forest edge and made his way over to Lori's little home.

"Bee!" her voice preceded her little form darting out onto the front porch. "There's no freaking furniture! This place is a _mess!_"

"So?" the little Autobot crouched down to peer through a dirty window. True to her words, the inside of the house was less well kept as Sam and Mikaela's house. And there wasn't a piece of furniture in sight. "We will go to town and buy some tomorrow. I believe General Lennox gave you one of those little plastic cards?"

Lori's face seemed to cheer up as Bumblebee reminded her of the government issued credit card that had found a home in her wallet. It was what she fondly called her "Buy-Whatever-I-Want-Without-Paying" card. "Oh. Shopping," she practically cackled. "I could hire some people to patch up the roof too, and maybe have a garage built for you, Bee!"

Bumblebee felt his engine rumble with the delight at the idea. From what his resources told him about this area, it got frightfully cold during the winter. So when Lori woke him from stasis particularly early the next day, he didn't complain and drove her straight to town. They spent hours hopping from one shop to the next; each time Lori came out to Bee she was flapping a bill of sale at him in excitement.

"Independence feels good, Bee!" she kept giggling. Bee found himself agreeing with her. He missed Sam and Mikaela's company greatly, as well as being within short-length communication range with other Autobots, but sharing in Lori's exploration of her new found freedoms was quite enjoyable. Especially when she came out of one shop with a present for Bee. He had the hardest time not revving his engines with pleasure when she went at his interior with some high grade leather care products.

Bumblebee could definitely get used to this.

* * *

I'm keeping you in suspense on the whole "BAD THINGS HAPPENING" thing, hur hur hur. Things have slowed down a bit in the last few chapters, but expect it to be picking back up soon. Lori's shopping spree ends up getting her and Bumblebee in a lot more trouble than she thought, and not in the way you might think. 


	6. Chapter 6

Title: Here We Go Now

Chapter: 6 of ?

Author: Minishini

Ratings: Hrm probably R. Cursing, and uh…well, you'll see.

Pairings: Mikaela x Sam, some hints at others…try and guess 'em.

Summary: It's been twenty-four years since the battle to save earth. Sam and Mikaela are happily married, and have their only little family to care for. Their eldest daughter, Lori, is about to depart for college when shit hits the fan.

Author's Notes: I'm aware Wheeljack was originally an Autobot. I'm going off the Transformers: Armada series where he turned Decepticon, I find it much more interesting and it serves my plot purposes. Oh and I lied last chapter. You'll see. Kekeke. Oh and I have no idea about astronomy on Cybertron, so I made it all up. And I don't care!

Disclaimer: Transformers and all that jazz is not mine, I wasn't even born when it was created, and therefore I claim no rights to any of it. So don't sue me, I'm a poor college student. Lori and Jason Witwicky, and Max Lennox are mine, however. So please do not use them unless you ask and are given permission in return. I also don't own the rights to any songs I use; they belong to their respective owners.

* * *

Bumblebee stretched out on his back and fixed his optics on the stars above him. Picking out the constellations that he had found on the internet was all too easy. It was picking out the ones that he recognized from his home world that was much more difficult. Cybertron had been millions upon millions of light years away, and it had taken many decades of travel to even enter this solar system. So it shouldn't have disappointed him that he could no longer pick out Alpha Deltron 6, which acted as his planet's North Star.

His thoughts were redirected from human astronomy as music filtered through the trees. It had been three months now since him and Lori had come to Minnesota, and he had come to learn the habits of his little human quite well. While Lori spent five out of seven days of the week dedicating herself to her studies, she was quite fond of either going to or throwing parties the other two days. The habit had been quite exciting at first for Bumblebee; when he went to college with Sam, the little male humanoid had hardly went to any parties, let alone clubs. Within the first week of being in the north, Lori had already found every single night club worthy of her attention within an hour's driving distance and committed them to Bumblebee's memory.

And she visited them, as she said, religiously. It was only a matter of time until she made new friends, friends that were older and far more experienced with her party girl life style than she was. Amusement flickered across Bumblebee's limited facial expressions as he thought about the first night Lori had gone to a party closer to her college campus. The girl had stumbled out to the car, supported by two other girls, and had nearly been sick in Bee's front seat. Lori's first encounter with alcohol had proved just as amusing as Sam's, Bee was quick to note. But Bee was quickly growing tired of it.

He had spent one too many mornings helping Lori clean up her trashed lawn—and sometimes his own body. Drunken college students were quite annoying, and Lori had a tendency to try and show him Bee off to the males that were courting her. Their grimy, sweaty hands running over his hood and body made him want to shudder and drive off into the night. And on the quite frequent occasions that one tried to give him a "spit shine" or vomited fermenting fluids all over him he had. The boys were drunk, he'd justify to himself, if Lori's car suddenly came to life they wouldn't believe it the next morning.

Lori always apologized the next morning, when she wasn't too drunk to be laughing over it. But she had never made an attempt to stop the offensive action. And Bumblebee refused to be a part of that tonight.

The music got louder as the night progressed. Bumblebee's sensors were focused in the general direction of the house, most of them keyed to keep track of Lori's sweaty and writhing body among the throngs of young adults dancing in her living room. Her body temperature was unusually high as she danced with a particular male, one she had been favoring for several weeks now. Hell, the whole house seemed to be several degrees higher than what Bee knew the thermostat was set at. He was registering plenty of alcohol fumes in the air, and even some chemical residue of human drugs that he was shocked to find in such close proximity of Lori.

_If she takes one step towards any of those potent chemicals_, Bee was thinking to himself, _I will bust into that domicile and drag her out myself._ He knew what some of those things did to fragile human bodies. He took it upon himself to protect Lori from anything that could damage her, whether self-inflicted or not. Slag it if the humans see him in his bipedal form.

But the night progressed without any problems. The loud pumping bass music never stopped, Lori kept dancing, and the bodies swarmed and writhed in her little house. Couples constantly snuck up to the spare bedrooms on the second floor to mate. Groups of males kept leaving the party and coming back with loads of alcohol and other substances. A pizza delivery boy even stopped by once or twice to deliver his goods.

Bee's internal clock was telling him it was four in the morning by the time the party started to die down. The dancers were slowly breaking off to return to their cars or taxis arrived to take away those too inebriated to drive themselves—at least the few that hadn't dared brave driving on their own. Bumblebee gradually snuck closer to the tree line that bordered the side of Lori's front lawn. His optics zoomed in and focused on her small, sweaty body dancing still on the front lawn with a mixed group of males and females.

He ran his sensors over her. The alcohol content of her blood was alarmingly high, and he could pick out traces of some substance he had never spotted before. While his databases researched the internet for the chemical make up on the web, he finished his observations of his charge. Lori had discarded clothing as the night progressed and her body temperature had dictated. She had started off wearing several layers of thin clothing, something Bee hadn't understood the purpose of but she explained by claiming it as fashionable, and was now wearing only a rather small spaghetti strap shirt. That was in the process of crawling up her flat stomach as her body writhed and moved in ways Bee thought was extraordinary.

Bee rumbled angrily as the male Lori was dancing with noticed this fact at the same time. The male, much to Bee's disapproval, was nowhere as intoxicated as Lori and lacked the chemical tainting his blood. Every warning alarm in his mechanical brain flared to life as he scanned over the other humans. None of them, he was shocked to find, had the chemical in their blood stream. The male, however, seemed to have a small concentration of it in the beer bottle he held.

"Here, you look thirsty," the male laughed and offered the bottle to Lori. She took it without question, and only slipped the male a mischievous grin before taking a long swig. Another male soon moved into position behind her, and upon a nod from the first grabbed Lori by her elbows and led her to the small one-car garage that acted as Bumblebee's stasis room.

A browser alerted Bumblebee to what it had found on the World Wide Web. The chemical now coursing through Lori's blood made Bee extend his battle mask over his face as he moved through the forest edge. He circled around the house until he was behind his garage while he read over the science article several times. _Ketamine hydrochloride. Commonly used as a date rape drug._

Bee's processors almost froze up. He had recognized that term as something Mikaela used to talk about to Sam when they were Lori's age. She had been discussing one of her friends, and made a reference to said friend being "date raped." Bumblebee, naturally, had researched the phrase on the internet. Now thinking of it in context to Lori made his motor oil boil.

"Where are we going?" he could hear his human ask, almost dreamily.

"Just in here, you look like you need a break," the first male murmured in her ear. Bumblebee's sensors could pick out an overwhelming amount of mating pheromones emitting from him and his companion.

"I don't want to," she pouted and looked back towards the party. No one had seen their departure. "Why over here? It's so…dark."

Lori stumbled. Whether it was the effects of the drug of the alcohol, Bee didn't know. His feet were already carrying him out of the forest and towards the two disgusting males. The younger, a dumpy looking blonde, was already fussing with his pants as the leader pinned Lori against a dark wall, well out of sight of the party.

Hands shifted to canons as Bee charged his weapons. Lori was squirming in the grip of the two boys, muttering 'no' over and over again. When Bee's sensors caught her name on his lips, he charged.

"Freeze, humans!" he bellowed and pointed both his guns at the males. The scream of terror they both let out was almost satisfying as they tore off back towards the party. Bee didn't care that he was being irrational or giving up his cover. He pursued them right into the throng of writhing bodies.

Humans scattered everywhere. The few that weren't smart enough to dive for their cars ran off into the woods, screaming in a frenzied panic. Bee shot off a few warning rounds from the guns mounted on his shoulders, careful to make sure the shells landed in empty pockets of earth well away from the humans. It wasn't until the two males were sprinting down the gravel driveway and out of sight that he went back to Lori.

She was crumpled up on the ground muttering as she hugged herself. Tremors were wracking her body, and Bee wasn't at all surprised that she got sick all over the lawn. Bee sighed as he made sure she was lying on one side so as not to choke on her own vomit. "No more parties, Lori," he murmured and sent out a distress call to the team stationed in town.

Ironhide arrived only moments later, his engines growling angrily as the trio of humans clambered out of his cab. "What the Pit happened?" snarled the old Autobot as he threw himself into his transformation.

"Step back, sir," the leader of the humans directed at Bumblebee as he hurried to Lori's side. The medic went right to work with his team as they took the girl's vitals and ran tests.

"Bee," Ironhide's heavy palm slammed down onto Bee's shoulder. "Tell me what happened."

"Two males administered ketamine hydrochloride to Lori," he paused and gave the Autobot time to look up the name of the drug. When a slew of curses in Cybertronian flew from the elder robot's voice capacitors, Bee turned his optics back to Lori. The team of humans were bundling her up in blankets and administering fluids intravenously.

"Where are those little bastards," Ironhide snarled as he charged his own energy cannons. "I will eradicate them."

"Gone," Bee was quiet as he watched the humans gingerly pick Lori up and move her to the house. More curses flew from Bee's companion. "I chased them all off."

"Can I blow up a car, then? You know, to work off the stress," Ironhide's voice was a deep growl as his optics took in the cars still parked all over Lori's lawn. The humans would be back for their vehicles eventually, Bee knew, yet he was keen to help his comrade destroy each and every one of them. After a brief silence between them, Ironhide's voice spoke up again. "Optimus and Lennox caught sign of Decepticon activity, by the way."

Bee's response was halfhearted, "That is good."

"Not necessarily," grunted the arms specialist. "They hacked the computer system at Max's preschool."

Bee could hear the Autobot charging his weapons again at the thought.

"They're starting to look for records of all the Witwicky's and Lennox's family. Several of Lennox's men from his team during the war have already gone missing or have had their relatives show up dead."

"How is that possible?" Bee snapped in agitation. It was too much to take in all in one night: Lori almost getting raped and now all of this. "We helped the humans improve internet security decades ago."

"You know it's still not on par with our defenses," Ironhide was just as grumpy with his response. "Prowl went through every trace our human companions left behind in computer documents and erased them himself. There were…traces, however, of Frenzy hacking other databases."

"Do we know what he searches for? It is unlike Decepticons to seek revenge like this. There must be a reason," even as he spoke Bee's sensors were alerting him to the violent convulsions now wracking Lori's body. The dose of the drug the boys gave her must have been too much. But the human medics were treating it appropriately and efficiently.

"I think Optimus knows," Ironhide sat down abruptly and poked at a small Civic. The car backed up a few inches and rocked on its wheels. "But he's not spilling the beans. By Primus, he's not giving us much information at all. Besides the hacking and Barricade being spotted in Chicago."

That caught Bee's attention. "Then they knew where Lori was headed."

Ironhide nodded. "He's still there, according to a human we sent. He's been camping out that school Lori wanted to go to."

Bee thanked every one of the human deities that Lori had been sent here, instead. Duluth, Minnesota was barely a city, and one that held no interest for Lori. It was a perfect spot for her to hide out while still obtaining an education. _And nearly getting herself molested_, he added bitterly. "How is Max and Annabelle?" he had to change the subject.

Ironhide's chest swelled up with what Bumblebee could only call fatherly pride. He had seen the same expression on Sam's face several times when humans questioned him about his children. "Max has started calling me Grampy."

The amount of pride the elder Autobot displayed was almost enough for Bumblebee to burst into laughter. Almost. His mind retracted in on itself as Ironhide began to prattle on about Annabelle Lennox, who he had proudly exclaimed as his own daughter not shortly after staying with William.

Lori's body was starting to fight off the effects of the drug. Her heart rate had calmed down as she slipped into unconsciousness, and she no longer twitched and writhed involuntarily on the bed the medics had lay her out on. She still vomited every few minutes, much to the delight of the medics. The faster her body expelled the poisons polluting it, the better.

Bee closed his optics and let out a huge sigh. He was aware that Ironhide had fallen silent and turned his own sensors in Lori's direction, but Bee didn't care. What he did care about was how close he had let Lori get to danger. He was supposed to be here to guard and protect her, not let her party and destroy herself. Never again, he told himself, never again would he let her go to a party or throw one herself. And those wretched nightclubs were definitely off limits.

Suddenly Bee found himself knowing fully well why Sam was so over protective of his daughter. She was young and adventurous, and just as reckless as Bee had been in his younger days. And then it hit him why the older Autobots had always been protective of him. It all suddenly made an immense sense to him. Younglings needed guidance and protection, at least until they grew to learn better for themselves.

"Ironhide…"

The elder robot turned blue optics to look at Bumblebee. "What up, Bee?"

Bumblebee finally retracted his battle mask as he faced the aging Autobot. "Thank you," he said, "for protecting me when I was young."

Ironhide shrugged and looked away abruptly. "Nothin' to thank me for," he muttered. Ironhide was always uncomfortable in moments like this. It made Bee smile. He sat in silence with his comrade as the early hours of the morning passed. The human medics had left one of their team at Lori's bedside as the other two went about the grounds performing clean up duties. It didn't seem to bother them that they spent a good portion of the day picking up emptied bottles and shells from Bee's guns. When both Ironhide and Bee's sensors detected the first human approaching through the forest they quickly reverted to their vehicular modes and simply watched (much to Ironhide's disapproval) as the youths retrieved their abandoned cars.

Lori stumbled out of the house around noon and abruptly flung herself at Bee's hood. It wasn't until a wet substance landed on his warm metal that he realized she was crying. "Bee," she choked out and hugged his hood tighter. "I fucking love you."

He was quiet as he popped open the passenger side door. The girl quickly slipped around his side, her soft touch never leaving his metal, and clambered into the back seat. "_Hush little baby, don't you cry_," his radio crooned as she curled up on warming leather seats. He could feel her tears on his seats; feel her squirming to get comfortable. It was a pleasant sensation that made his body tingle guiltily. "_It's gonna be okay, it's gonna be alright, it's gonna be that you're the only one who understands._"

The human medics were frozen where they stood on the front lawn, gaping as they watched Bee roll towards the open garage door. It wasn't until Ironhide let out a loud cough that they tore their attention away from the yellow Camaro. "Yes, sir?" the leader asked the black Topkick sitting nearby.

"Pack up. Lennox wants you guys moved into that house by the end of the night," Ironhide grumbled grumpily.

"Sir," they saluted before running back into the house to grab their medical bags.

**XXXX**

"Barrrrrricade!"

Barricade snapped out of stasis at the excited tone from his little partner. "What?" he snapped grumpily. It wasn't often these days that Barricade wasn't in a foul mood, and taking it out on the little Decepticon oddly made him feel better. Even if Frenzy ignored him.

"I f-f-found something" stammered the over excited minibot. "Human sightings. Giant robot men."

That got Barricade's attention. "Where at?"

"Northeast-t-t," Frenzy was no hopping up and down in excitement in Barricade's passenger seat. The laptop he held excitedly in his hands flashed a screen in the general direction of Barricade's internal optics. "Seven and a ha-a-alf hour drrrrive."

Barricade's engines roared to life as his partner transmitted the coordinates to Barricade's GPS system. "Start hacking more computers, Frenzy," he snarled and shifted into drive. "I want more evidence than what drunken college boys have to say. This wouldn't be the first time you've dug up information on alien sightings. I've yet to find that slagging Area 51 you reported."

Frenzy only chattered excitedly before flopping back into the leather seat. His little fingers were flying over the keyboard of his laptop. "St-st-still," the little robot squeaked, "It is f-f-fun to hunt. Yes yes?"

**XXXX**

"Barricade is on the move, Starscream."

"I told you!" Starscream roared and slammed his fist into a building on an abandoned flight strip. "Call me Master, you fool!"

Wheeljack ignored the pissed off robot's demands. He may have taken command of the Decepticons when Megatron was defeated—a fact Wheeljack still found hard to believe—but that did not mean he earned loyalty worthy of the "Master" title. "He is leaving Chicago. It is unknown whether or not he has the girl with him or not."

"Then follow him," hissed the dingy gray Decepticon. "Follow him, and make sure he does not get her before us. It is sad enough that you could not track her down before that minibot could. Do not disappoint me in bringing her back!"

Wheeljack sneered disdainfully behind his battle mask before touching his slashed Autobot insignia stamped on his chest. "Beg pardon, _Starscream,_ but what use is the girl to us? It is the Autobots we fight, not humans." Despite switching his allegiances, there were still some things Wheeljack agreed on with the Autobots. These humans, as pathetic as they were, were not a part of their war. They should have never been involved in the first place.

"That girl," Starscream snarled and advanced on the smaller Deception, "is what will give us leverage with Optimus Prime! He will know where the All Spark is hidden—"

"The All Spark was destroyed," Wheeljack frowned. Everyone knew that the sacred cube that had birthed the Cybertronians was gone. What was this lunatic raving about?

"So that is what the _Autobots_ tell us," snapped the jet fighter before turning away from Wheeljack. "It is not what we _know._"

"Scorponok showed me the feed he received from you during the battle!" Wheeljack snapped and took an aggressive step towards Starscream. "You saw it with your own optics, by Primus! The All Spark was gone; it destroyed itself and Megatron with it!"

"Shut up, youngling, and bring me the girl!"

Wheeljack spun on his heel and stormed away from the hangar Starscream was heading into. He didn't have time for this slagging lunatic's banter. If getting that humanoid youngling would get the robot to stop throwing fits, then Wheeljack would get the slagging female. At any costs.

And, he thought excitedly to himself, maybe he would run into Hot Shot during the retrieval.

* * *

Okay so I lied, I had a last change in heart about this little plot bunny though. EXPECT SHOPPING TROUBLES NEXT CHAPTER.

Songs used:

Hush Little Baby : I have no idea who originally made this song

Ramones : It's Gonna Be Alright

PS. As always thanks for all the reviews and comments. Much love to you all!


	7. Chapter 7

Title: Here We Go Now

Chapter: 7 of ?

Author: Minishini

Ratings: Rrr, matey.

Pairings: Not really much of any in this one!

Summary: It's been twenty-four years since the battle to save earth. Sam and Mikaela are happily married, and have their own little family to care for. Their eldest daughter, Lori, is about to depart for college when shit hits the fan.

Author's Notes: Maybe if I move this to the end, people will read it.

Disclaimer: Transformers and all that jazz is not mine, I wasn't even born when it was created, and therefore I claim no rights to any of it. So don't sue me, I'm a poor college student. Lori and Jason Witwicky, and Max Lennox are mine, however. So please do not use them unless you ask and are given permission in return. I also don't own the rights to any songs I use; they belong to their respective owners.

* * *

There was only thing Barricade loved about humans, and that was their wonderful tendency to put anything and everything on their puny, insufficient, primitive computers. Social security numbers, bank accounts, birth certificates, _everything_ Barricade could have wanted he could trust Frenzy to find with his little lap top. Everything, it seemed, except for the Witwicky girl.

"I don't care what you have to do," the Decepticon snarled as he fired off his energy cannon at a lone human domicile. The explosion was a grand one, and helped alleviate his foul mood…a little bit. "Find me anything, _anything_ that could be in relation to the female."

And Frenzy had clicked and chirped at him in agitation before going back to work at his lap top. "St-st-stupid humans tried to erase her," he would mutter every couple minutes. "Hard to fffffind anything."

"She was there every day of her life up until that idiot Starscream assaulted her. It is not possible for a human to simply disappear!" another shot at the house made sure there were no survivors. It wouldn't be the first time Barricade had taken out his frustration so publicly. The humans—as simple minded as they were—always wrote off his attacks to gas explosions or some other absurd reason.

Frenzy twitched. "The b-b-boys that sighted the robot were admitted to a men-men-mental hospital," chattered the minibot. "Several other witnesses c-c-claimed it to be a…a… Hallucination-on-on? A vision?"

Barricade sighed. "Humans do not simply have 'visions.' Were there drugs or alcohol involved?"

The little Decepticon hissed and punched at his keyboard. "Yes," he said regretfully. "D-d-do we write it off as an induced vision-on-on?"

The idea was tempting. Barricade was growing weary of chasing down dead ends. He and his partner had been searching for the human survivors of the battle with Megatron for nearly three decades now, with no sight of their goal. Every step of the way that selfish Pit cursed Starscream had been hovering over their shoulders. It was surprising the Decepticon hadn't followed the duo to Minnesota. Maybe Starscream had caught wind of what they sought and looked elsewhere…?

Barricade roared and kicked at the little vehicle that had been parked in front of the demolished house. "No. Not until we search every lead we have. Find out what stores sold alcohol within two days prior of the incident. Track the credit cards and find who owns the accounts, and get me a history."

It was several tense minutes before Frenzy, agitated at having to crack through Autobot-improved firewalls, managed to find all the information that was asked of him. It only took a mouse click and a nanosecond for the files to be sent to Barricade and him to look through them all. And lo and behold, he had two leads.

"The first address, we will go there first," he turned to his partner. "These are both government issued credit cards. What are two government officials doing in this slag ridden place?"

"Moving, appa-pa-parently," Frenzy snickered. "Lotsa furniture to one. Supplies to the other. Sh-sh-shall I cross reference postal deliveries?"

Barricade knew there was a reason he kept the twitching, twittering Frenzy around besides for his hacking capabilities. The little runt was a genius at times. "Yes," he growled and transformed to his vehicular form—a Saleen Mustang decked out to resemble a police car. "Let's see where these humans are receiving orders."

Frenzy cackled before hurrying into the passenger seats. Already sirens were wailing in the far distance, harbingers of the human infestation. It was time to leave, and pay a visit to this first address. Damn shame it was in the middle of town…Frenzy would have to do recon for Barricade. Slagging humans always had to live in colonies.

**XXXX**

Bee decided that he could not trust his little human charge with taking care of herself. Slag it, the girl had run off somewhere while he was deep in stasis and he hadn't even noticed. Ironhide was in town to pick up supplies with the medics that were now staying with Lori, so the elder Autobot would be incapable of helping him track her down. And according to Bee's weather instruments, the light drizzle that was falling would soon turn into a thunderstorm. Time was of the essence.

His sensors scanned over the surrounding forest and honed in a particular spot. Heat was emanating like a tiny stare some distance to the east, and over it stood the familiar signature that was Lori. And some male human.

Bee was off in a flash with no care for what he stepped on or knocked over as he plowed through the trees. After Lori's last run in with males on her own, he was wary to leave her alone without some sort of monitoring. This male, whoever he was, however was making no physical advances on the girl. It calmed Bee down to some degree, enough so that he crouched down and slowed his approach.

Lori was sitting on a fallen log, her soft features turned towards the heat of a roaring fire. The strange male was standing on the other side, a shy look on his face as he talked to her. She was completely unresponsive. "Well, I just figured, you know, was worth a shot," the male's voice was soft and gentle, not at all what Bee was expecting.

"Thank you," was Lori's polite reply. "We'll talk in class, okay?"

"Sounds good," the male smiled and turned away reluctantly. He climbed on a small dirt bike that had been leaning haphazardly against a tree, gave Lori a wink, and was gone.

"Bee, you really ought to be less noisy."

"You were missing. I was afraid that…" he fell silent and stepped into the clearing beside her. She looked absolutely tiny hunched up as she was. Even her movements as she picked up a stick seemed to be diminished in some way. "What is the matter?"

"Mark, that guy," she started slowly.

"What did he do?" and down Bee's battle mask went and out came his cannons. His sensors could still detect the heat from the boy and his pathetic bike making a steady pace through the woods. "Shall I terminate? Ironhide would want me to."

"No, no Bee," she laughed and turned her face up to him. The amusement in her eyes died abruptly. "He asked me out."

"Oh," something twinged at Bumblebee's mechanical heart at her words. And something…almost like anger? "You do not seem to like that idea. Don't human females wish to be courted by males they are attracted to?"

"He's a real nice guy, Bee, I would love to date him."

Some sort of beast clawed inside Bee's chassis in an effort to get out.

"But how…how do I go on trusting guys after what happened with Mitch and Collin?"

And that was enough to set aside any strange emotions that were currently clouding Bumblebee's reasoning facilities. His hands shifted back to their normal position as he took a seat beside her. "I am a male. Do you not trust me?"

"Yeah but you're different, Bee," she gave him a shy smile. "You're not a sex-brained idiot."

"I think about sex a lot," he admitted bluntly. "It is a quite curious thing in your culture. Most species seem to mate to procreate, but yours also does it for pleasure. As does mine."

Lori's eyes got wide and her cheeks turned red. "What?"

"It is equally common among my species to mate without the purpose of procreation. You do it for pleasure, do you not?"

How Bee could still seem to be so innocent while asking about Lori's sex life, she would never know. But oddly enough he pulled it off, like some little kid discussing the topic with an adult. "Well, I mean, yeah but… Robots can have sex?"

"It is different with us, but the results are the same," he said matter of fact. "But yet, you trust me."

"Because you don't try to rape me," she poked at the armor plating on his knee. How in the world was she going to try and get the point across to a giant robot?

"Then it is a question of finding a male that has boundaries," was Bee's answer. "Not all of earth's males are like the ones you kept in company. That…Mike?"

"Mark," she corrected him.

"Mark seemed like he understood. He left you alone without pressuring you. When is your date?" Bee was proud of himself for keeping any emotions out of his query. He was not looking forward to driving Lori to any dates with any males. Bee was evidently growing possessive of the little human female, just as he had with Sam and Mikaela so long ago. Lori was his human now, and he took it upon himself to protect her as he should. Even if he had no business in her mating life.

"I shot him down."

Bee heaved an imitated sigh of relief, which set Lori laughing again.

"Don't worry, Bee," she smiled and inched closer to him on her log. Her soft little hand was a warm reassurance on his metal plates as she stroked the gleaming surface. "I won't get myself in a situation like last time, I promise."

"Your father would have my head," the Autobot responded halfheartedly. There were things going on elsewhere in his mind that were unsettling and confusing him. Emotions that needed a larger portion of his attention than Lori's conversation demanded of him. "Mikaela never stopped loving him for respecting her boundaries. They did not mate for quite some time."

Lori punched at his leg. "Bee, I do not want to hear about my parents having sex. That is a no-no."

"I am just saying—"

"No! I don't care, I don't want to hear it," and she plugged her ears in a very childish manner. "Not listening!"

The creature really was quite amusing, Bee chuckled to himself. _**Bumblebee.**_

Ironhide's voice ringing through the young Autobot's head snapped him to full attention. He was aware of Lori catching the sudden tension in his body, and her query of confusion, but he ignored it. This transmission from his comrade was more important. Ironhide sounded distressed.

_**Barricade just drove past me. I lost him on the rods in town. He was heading your way. **_

"We must go," Bumblebee grabbed his charge in his hands and was up before the girl had time to say anything. "We must get away from here."

"What? Why?" Lori's voice was now tinged with panic as she clung to his hands. She had hated any of the Autobots picking her up like this, especially after the incident with Starscream. It was no surprise she was also developing a fear of heights.

_**I'll be there as fast as possible. These blasted humans have me loaded down with supplies. Be careful, and run if you must. We have to avoid a battle at all costs. Get Lori to safety.**_

"Bee!" Lori squeaked as he relocated her to his shoulder. "Bee, what the hell!"

He didn't get far before an energy blast cleared a patch of trees out of his path. He was quick to deposit Lori behind a pile of large boulders and turn to face the Decepticon that was now assaulting him. What he saw was the last thing he expected. "Wheeljack!"

"Surprised to see me, Bumblebee?" the ex-Autobot drawled and aimed his energy cannons towards the pile of boulders. "Give me the girl."

"What are you doing here?" Bumblebee couldn't help feel the slight twinge of joy at seeing an old comrade, even if the slagging fool had turned Decepticon.

"For the girl, obviously. Really Bumblebee, I expected more. Now hand her over!" the cannon charged.

Bee frowned and stepped in front of Lori's hiding spot. The girl had been smart enough to stay hidden and quiet. "If you want her, you would not dare to blow her apart."

"Starscream didn't specify whether he wanted her in one piece or not," snapped the angry Decepticon. Bee's optics kept slipping to the decayed remains of the Autobot insignia on Wheeljack's chest plates, and the slash that defaced it.

"You should talk to Optimus, Wheeljack," he murmured quietly.

"I am not here to talk to that old fool!" he snapped and redirected his aim to Bumblebee's head. "Now give her to me!"

A second energy blast tore through the misty evening and knocked Wheeljack back. Both him and Bee turned abruptly towards the newcomer standing mere meters away. Barricade snarled with a mouth full of razor sharp teeth. "I'll fight you for the creature."

"Oh shit," Lori squeaked from behind her rock. "Giant robot death matches. Oh shit."

"Now really," Wheeljack sneered as he aimed his free cannon at the second Decepticon. "It isn't right for comrades to fight, is it?"

"If you serve that fool Starscream than I will fight you," Barricade's voice was a growl as he directed all of his weapons towards Wheeljack. "Right now, I'd much rather kill you than the bumbling Bee."

Bee acted quickly before the Decepticons could drag him into what was definitely a split in power. Lori was in his hands and he was running off through the woods as fast as he could, towards where his GPS was showing Ironhide advancing up the gravel road. The older Autobot was emanating anger through every feed Bee could connect with to him.

Explosions went off under his feet and Bee instinctively cuddled Lori to his chest as he fell. The crushing weight of his own mass over his hands was an immense pain that forced a strained cry out of his voice facilities, but a pain he would endure if it meant Lori's safety. A quick scan of his sensors told him she was unharmed, if a bit knocked around.

Ironhide appeared by Bee's side, his cannons charging as he took aim on the advancing Wheeljack. "Traitorous slime," he growled before firing off his weapons. "Get up and get her out of here, Bee."

Bee didn't have to think twice before he was back on his feet and running while Ironhide showered the battlefield in a haze of bullets and cannon fire.

**XXXX**

Barricade was getting pissed with Starscream and his brain wash of the other Decepticons. It was bad enough that Scorponok did reconnaissance for the slagging fool, but now Wheeljack was serving him? Absolutely ludicrous. The ex-Autobot had been one of Megatron's most loyal after he pled allegiance to the master.

Barricade didn't care anymore. That fool of an Autobot was standing between him and the female human. He'd rip out his wiring and tear his spark out with his bare hands.

But the fool had completely dismissed Barricade from his thoughts when Bumblebee tried to make another run for it. Barricade took the chance, much to Frenzy's encouragement, to slip around the forest to intercept Bumblebee's path. Ironhide was now showing on his sensors as a huge collection of charged energon rifles and cannons. Explosions and gun fire were going off like it was the slagging human celebration on the fourth of July.

Wheeljack was tied up with Ironhide. Bumblebee wasn't too far off and running for the cover of the opposite tree line. Barricade took aim…

And down the yellow Autobot fell, completely motionless.

"Figures. One shot does the runt in," he snarled as Frenzy squealed with delight. Dead Autobots meant one thing to the tiny minibot: free parts. And free parts meant better repairs on his much larger partner.

But then Bumblebee moved. It was a twitch at first, something Barricade would have dismissed as an electric impulse firing off in the Autobot's arms. But then Bumblebee was climbing back onto his feet, battle mask covering his head and cannons flashing in the moon light. And damn, did he look pissed.

Almost as pissed as he did back in the junk yard.

"Uh-ohs," Frenzy chimed from his compartment on Barricade's body.

"Find the human," Barricade snarled as the minibot jumped down to the ground. "Find her, and retain her to the best of your abilities. I will get the bot."

"C-c-careful," was the only warning Frenzy gave his partner before scrambling off towards the small source of heat he recognized as a human.

"Caution is for the weak," Barricade roared and charged at the little yellow Autobot.

**XXXX**

There was only one thing Ironhide loved more than showering a Decepticon with his impressive arsenal of weapons: and that was the Lennox family. But, he decided, a good gun fight ran a close second.

"Your aim is off, old man!" Wheeljack cackled as a bullet shell ripped apart the trunk of a tree near his position. The stupid traitor had tried to hide behind a giant rock as they exchanged gun fire.

"I wasn't aiming for you," Ironhide snarled as the tree splintered and tilted over. It landed with a loud crack right on Wheeljack's thick dome of a head. "I was aiming for that," he cackled and darted forward, out of the open of the clearing. He was in melee range with Wheeljack before the Decepticon could force the weight of the tree off him. Guns blazing, Ironhide ripped into him with a punch that held the force of twenty-four years of pent up energy.

Damn, it had been too long sing Ironhide got in a good scrap.

**XXXX**

Lori felt like a damn coward for running. An absolutely pathetic excuse of a human. Here she was, huffing and puffing and running blindly through woods she didn't know, while her friends fought to the bloody death behind her. And all of this was to protect her from those stupid Decepticons. Just because Lori wanted to go to college.

_You're a fucking fool, Witwicky,_ she was cursing herself repeatedly as she ran through streams and mud puddles, and simultaneously thanking her years spent on the high school track team. _You're a fool, an idiot, a coward, a complete—_

She couldn't finish her thought as a small weight collided into her back. She screamed as she fell, fully aware of cold metal pawing at her back frantically. There was some sort of robot trying to drag her back towards the battle, and it was cackling and jeering like some sort of crazed lunatic.

"Let go of me, you little shit!" she screamed and blindly lashed out with an arm.

"S-s-silence, human," it stuttered in excitement as it deftly dodged her blow. "Resistance is f-f-futile."

And now it was quoting movies at her like she was in some sort of corny horror flick. Just fantastic.

"Come with me-e-e," it giggled. "We will take care of you, yes? Much better than yellow Bumble bot-ot-ot. He bad robot."

"He's my _friend_," was her snarled reply before she flailed her leg. The little thing squealed even more as it clung on with a grip to rival the Jaws of Life. She cursed before eying the rock beside her. "Fine, stupid little…" and she bashed her leg right against the rock. The robot screamed, she screamed, and the stupid little thing finally let go.

"St-st-stupid humans!" Frenzy snarled as he tried to get his now broken back to carry his weight. He could not let the girl go. He could not fail Barricade!

"God," Lori was swearing and cursing as she rubbed against her leg. "I am going back to Nowhere, and I'm never stepping into the sun," she snarled before climbing tenderly onto her feet. She knew she messed her leg up something fierce. It was tingly and could barely hold her weight. But she needed to go. She needed to… What? Run?

Her eyes fell on the squirming chunk of metal. It was jabbering on and on in some language she couldn't identify. It sounded like series of clicks and whistles and piercing little screams. Or maybe it was really screaming. But that…that thing, whatever it was, it was with one of those robots Ironhide and Bee were fighting. Bee…

She made up her mind and started limping back towards the battle, and her little house.

* * *

ANOTHER CLIFFHANGER FOR YOU, LOL (and another day goes by without me writing my research paper).

Quick Author's Note: I got a lot of comments about Wheeljack from the last chapter. I guess people didn't see my Author's Note at the beginning, but oh well. I'm going off the Transformers: Armada series for this Wheeljack, where he turned Decepticon after he felt he was abandoned by Hot Shot after being mortally wounded in a battle. So no, this is not G1 universe or Wheeljack would be am Autobot and Bumblebee would be the not-as-cool yellow Bug. But thank god this is based off the movie verse, right? hums Bitchin' Camaro

No songs used in this chapter! And no teasers for you either!


	8. Chapter 8

Title: Here We Go Now

Chapter: 8 of ?

Author: Minishini

Ratings: R, for liberal use of swear words and robot violence.

Pairings: Hinted Bumblebee x Lori, wut?

Summary: It's been twenty-four years since the battle to save earth. Sam and Mikaela are happily married, and have their own little family to care for. Their eldest daughter, Lori, is about to depart for college when shit hits the fan.

Disclaimer: Transformers and all that jazz is not mine, I wasn't even born when it was created, and therefore I claim no rights to any of it. So don't sue me, I'm a poor college student. Lori and Jason Witwicky, and Max Lennox are mine, however. So please do not use them unless you ask and are given permission in return. I also don't own the rights to any songs I use; they belong to their respective owners.

* * *

There was a sort of tension and excitement in the air as Sam Witwicky strolled through the Autobot base, Nowhere. Prowl and Optimus were barking out orders to a small group of Autobots who were helping their smaller human companions load military trucks. Even Hoist, who was normally awkward and silent around the humans, was booming orders at the team of medics he was in charge of. Suddenly, Sam had a sinking suspicion something was terribly, horridly wrong.

He walked right up to the nearest Autobot, a new comer that arrived only a few days prior, and placed a hand on his foot. The Autobot jumped and looked around in alarm for a moment before his optics landed on Sam's much smaller frame. "Witwicky, yes? Can I help you?"

"What's going on?" Sam's heart was beating the inside of his chest. There were only two reasons he could think of the Autobots preparing to roll out so hurriedly. Either Optimus decided they needed a drill out in the wide desert, or the Decepticons were ripping up some human city.

The robot's mechanical facial features frowned as he looked between Sam and the building convoy. "There is a Decepticon attack under way. Optimus is going with a small team to make sure we don't lose out."

"And…and what are they attacking?" Sam's throat grew tight. Please, any god that would listen, please let them not be—

"One of our human allies and two Autobots."

A slew of curses flew out of Sam's mouth as he broke into a dead run towards Optimus, the strange Autobot following curiously. "Prime!" he shouted, trying to get the elder robot's attention. Prime fixed an optic on him before speaking to Prowl in a chain of Cybertronian. "Damnit, Prime!"

"Sam," the huge blue and red robot turned away from his proceedings to squat down in front of Sam. "You have heard the news then," it was a flat statement, not a question.

"Yeah I heard," Sam's voice was rising in an angry growl. How could Optimus not tell him about this? His daughter was being attacked, and he had to find out from some…some random civilian robot! "What the hell is going on? I want to hear it from you!"

Optimus sighed sadly before giving the new Autobot a cross look. "I see Hot Shot has told you Lori was under attack without realizing the connections between you," he paused as Hot Shot turned his optics in a different direction. "Ironhide ran into Barricade investigating their old safe house in the town near Lori. He was unable to engage, due to them both being in the city. Barricade took advantage of our rules and lost Ironhide in the streets. He made it to Lori's address before Ironhide could."

"And what happened?" Sam didn't care that he was snarling at the Autobot leader. His daughter was in danger, and he'd be damned if he backed down now. "Where is Lori?"

"According to our last transmission, her and Bumblebee are making a run for it," Optimus gestured to the military convoy with a sweep of his hand. "We go to aid Ironhide, if that is the case, and clean up the mess. General Lennox has kindly commandeered three aircraft for our—"

"And you just thought I shouldn't know, right? Thought I wouldn't mind that, you know, my only daughter could be lying _dead_ as we speak—"

"And my arms specialist and scout could be in a similar state," Optimus' voice grew cold and distant, sending a chill down Sam's spine. "Your daughter's safety, Sam, is of high importance to me. But so is the safety of my men. If you are done, you are delaying our departure."

Sam's face was hot with fury and embarrassment at being chastised like some little kid by Optimus Prime. And the fact that the convoy, which was indeed ready to leave, was watching the two made it all worse. "I'm coming."

"You will not," and Prime rose to his impressive full height. "Autobots, roll out!" he barked at the waiting robots and their human comrades. Prowl took the lead of the convoy, shifting and grinding as he transformed into a sleek Mustang. "You have done enough for us, Sam. Let us take care of it from here."

"Prime, you son of a—"

"I wish to go in the boy's stead," Hot Shot's young voice over rode any and all curses Sam directed at Optimus Prime. His very protoform was vibrating and humming with the excitement of a potential battle, his hands fisted and battle mask covering his face. "I will act in his best interests."

"Hot Shot," Prime frowned as he considered the young Autobot. Hot Shot had been known for recklessness in battle on Cybertron, and he had a hot head to go with it. Taking the youngling could be costly, or it could be the perfect chance to expose him to battle on earth… "Fine, hopefully you will find an alternate mode that you like while we're out."

Sam cursed and swore some more, wishing he had something that he could throw at both the robots as they turned to follow the convoy, Optimus shifting into his semi-truck form and Hot Shot into some alien car.

**XXXX**

Ironhide's whole endoskeleton reverberated with the blast from Wheeljack's plasma cannon. The Pit-brained youngling had been foolish enough to fire his weapon from point blank, and now not only was his arm a shattered mess of circuitry and metal, Ironhide had a gaping hole inches away from his spark's containment field. "Don't be an idiot," he snarled and drew back his arm to punch Wheeljack right in the optics. The sound of shattering lenses and short circuiting wiring was an absolute relief. "You're being just as reckless as Hot Shot, and it's gonna cost you, whelp."

Wheeljack called Ironhide a slew of names in Cybertronian as he hurried to put distance between him and the old Autobot. With his optics destroyed, he had to resort to using all of his other sensors to keep track of the damn out-dated piece of slag.

"You're not even worth my time like this," Ironhide's voice was a deep growl from Wheeljack's right. He turned and aimed his guns at a faint energon source and fired. The after shock wracked the exposed circuitry in his busted arm and made him yell in pain. "Just give up, son," and now the voice was somewhere to the left, above, behind, all around Wheeljack.

"Quit hacking my system!" he roared and made a last chance effort: he started randomly shooting off his guns, missiles, cannons, whatever he had at his disposal. The explosions absolutely enveloped him and blocked out any and every chance he had at detecting Ironhide before the attack came.

A hand tore into Wheeljack's chassis, wrapped around a large metal box cradled in his very core, and ripped it out. Screaming, Wheeljack fell as the wires connecting him to his spark were ripped, torn, and sundered. "Ironhide!" his voice was a pained bellow as the blackness started to creep in on the hinges of his awareness. His systems were firing off alarm after alarm, damage totals were flashing through his head. Spark containment field unstable. Connection failed. Core system failure imminent. Emergency shut down processes engaged. Entering stasis.

"You are a young fool, Wheeljack," Ironhide's voice was a calm, cold murmur in the darkness.

"How could you…" Wheeljack's vocal processors shut down. His legs no longer obeyed his will to move. Only his hands—one blown off until all that was left was a mess at his elbow, the other too weak to grip properly—found a hard chest that could only be Ironhide's.

Ironhide gently settled the system that contained Wheeljack's spark back into the youngling's chest cavity. "We were comrades, once," he growled and lowered the Autobot-turned-Decepticon to the ground. "I could not kill you. But pray that Optimus has the mercy to save you, and that Ratchet is willing."

The Cybertronian stilled. "Powering down," a fake imitation of his voice blurted. With a long, low wail that made Ironhide's spine shudder, the energon core that powered Wheeljack shut down. The youngling would live, Ironhide knew, but it did not make the sight any more pleasurable. Damages like the ones Wheeljack had would take hundreds of years of passive stasis regeneration to recover from.

An explosion echoed through the eerie silence and drew Ironhide's attention back to the present. Bumblebee was still out there with the precious life of the Witwicky youngling. Barricade, the damned fool, had to be in pursuit.

Ignoring the sparks that flew from the hole in his chest, Ironhide turned towards the red haze of fire that illuminated the sky line and powered up his cannons. "Hang on, little buddy," he growled. Barricade had escaped death in the first battle. He would not this time; Ironhide would make sure of it.

**XXXX**

Lori was panting and gasping for breath as she finally came up behind her house. Her leg was throbbing and sending sharp pains shooting through her body with every other step she took, reminding her that she was no match for robots, let alone the twenty-foot one her Bumblebee was fighting. But, oddly enough, she didn't seem to care at the moment. This whole thing was her fault. She would man up and take responsibility for it.

The back door was locked. Swearing, Lori tore off her shirt and wrapped her hand up. _Thank you, Hollywood, for teaching me how to survive, _she thought before punching at the glass. She only winced and bit her lip as the shards cut at her bare arm and shoulder, and even sliced through the fabric of her shirt to gouge at her hand. She knocked out the rest of the glass before sticking her arm through and flipping the lock. Her door swung open in an eerie semblance of welcome.

After this was all over, Lori swore she would never return to this cursed property. First she had almost been raped, and now it was a war zone. This house, she was convinced, was cursed.

Her legs carried her straight for the large trunk sitting conspicuously beside the TV in her living room. She felt like she was dreaming as her hands entered the combination on the electric lock and flipped the lid up. The small arsenal inside would have usually scared and unsettled her. Now she found it as a great welcome sight.

She drew on a black bullet proof vest and pulled the straps tight, just as General Lennox had showed her so long ago. Lori used to think he was just showing off on the few times he took her on a tour of Nellis Air Force Base. It seemed silly, she thought, that she hadn't realized Lennox was training her for times like this. Her hands found the munitions boxes and slung chains of bullets across her small chest. The weight was almost oppressing, but she ignored it.

And there was the gun. It was more like a small hand cannon then anything, she thought, as she lifted it from its velvet lined spot in the trunk. It was odd, watching her hands move with a mind of their own as they checked over the cold piece of metal and shoved sabot rounds into the bullet chamber. She paused, awed, and stared at her small arms cradling such a dangerous heap of metal.

An explosion tore her attention back to the here and now. _No time to think, no time to pause, just move, Lori, just move._

She stepped out on her front porch and felt a knot form in her stomach. Her whole front yard was highlighted with light from a roaring inferno eating up the forest on either side. Giant craters from gun fire and cannon blasts made the ground resemble the pitted surface of the moon. And there was Bumblebee, beat up and soot covered, struggling to keep his footing firm as a black and gray Decepticon bore down on him with a powerful blow.

Lori's feet moved, and her body followed. Her hands trembled as she cocked the gun in their grip and nestled the butt near her shoulder as Lennox had shown her. Just ready, steady, aim, and fire, she reminded herself. She ignored the last bit of Lennox's advice: shoot to wound, not to kill.

That Decepticon only wanted to do one thing to Bumblebee, and Lori was sure it wasn't kissing.

"St-st-stinky little flesh bag!" a high pitched screech was the only sound that preceded the small weight that collided once again into Lori's back. This time, as she fell, she was sure to roll onto her back so the little runt robot took all the weight. "Maybe I kill you after all, yesyesyes, Barrrrrricade would understand…" it chattered excitedly. "Kill you slow…nice and s-s-slow!"

"Shut up," she snarled and pushed with her legs, trying to crush the thing between her back and the cold ground. She could feel it clawing and digging at her back and hear the fabric of her vest ripping.

"Barrrrricade gonna kill the Bumble b-b-bot, yesyesyes. If he can kill, Frenzy can too!"

Lori ignored the stupid thing's ramblings as she turned her attention back onto the fighting robots. Sure enough, Bumblebee had lost the match of strength between him and the Decepticon. The joints in his yellow armored legs were sparking as he fell to his knees. With a powerful swing of his heavily armored arms, Barricade knocked Bee to the side.

"No, nonono," Lori felt her throat constrict as she watched, horrified, as the Decepticon aimed a cannon at Bumblebee's head. The weapon glowed a faint red as it charged. Energy was gathering inside its depths, preparing the shot that would finish off her Bee.

Ironhide collided into the Decepticon just as the cannon went off, knocking the blast stray. Lori screamed and curled up as her house exploded instead, showering her and the little Frenzy robot in debris. Well that settles it. She would never return to this house if she survived the day.

"No, Bee, get up," she swore and decided her back could put up with the frantic minibot clawing at it. She rose to her feet, which seemed to be a lot harder than she thought, and started a slow jog towards the downed Autobot.

"Wh-wh-where you goin', human?" the robot cackled in her ear. "You can't save the Bumble bot. Bumble b-b-bot is gonna die. Barrrricade will finish him!"

She swung the butt of her gun over her shoulder and felt a satisfying shock run up her arm as it connected with the thing. "Shut up, your precious Barricade looks like he's about done in."

Frenzy fell silent for the first time that evening as his optics swiveled around to focus on his partner. The Ironhide Autobot was standing over him, pushing the dome of his head into the dirt before aiming an array of guns at Barricade's body. "Nonono, Barrrricade!" Frenzy screeched and pushed off the human girl, suddenly not caring that the little flesh bag was getting away. She would not get far. Frenzy would find her no matter where she went. "Barrricade, you hang on! F-fr-frenzy get parts, Frenzy fix!" and he darted off for the giant form of Bumblebee in an awkward scuttle.

Lori swore as she watched the silver robot shoot towards Bumblebee. He was still struggling to sit up, the gears in his body screaming with the effort to move his massive weight. "Bee, watch out!" she screamed as Frenzy bunched up his legs, and jumped.

Bee's sensors caught the impression of a small spark flying through the air and dropping onto his chest plates. Small, sharp hands were clawing through his joints and digging at wires, cutting, tearing, and ripping. He couldn't keep back the yell of pain his voice processor wanted to let out. Frenzy was on him, moving too quickly for Bee's damaged arms to stop. He was tearing at wires, ripping bolts and screws from their rightful places, and pulling out small parts in triumph.

"Frenzy fix Barrricade!" the minibot squealed. "Bumble bot die!"

And then Bee's sensors brought another life form to his attention. Lori was beside him, her small warm hands an alarming comfort on his metal skin. It only took him a moment to realize she shouldn't be there, that she should be running away from danger, not climbing up Bee's side. With a surge of energon through his body, Bee tried to shake her off, tried to push her towards the relative safety of the forest. Even on fire it was a safer spot for her fragile human body than in the middle of a battle. And Frenzy…the crazed minibot was likely to rip her apart in the state he was in.

"Stop it, Bee," she snarled and kept climbing the plating protecting his sides. "Just let me do this, let me save you for once!" she yelped as her foot slipped and came dangerously close to getting stuck in the gears turning in Bee's side. Bee watched, horrified and helpless, as she pulled herself up onto his chest.

Frenzy noticed her immediately. Bumblebee could hear the whirring in his small head as he considered her. "Pesky flesh bag came?" his little head tilted to one side. His little hands were stroking the parts he had torn from Bee's chest. "Braver than you loo-oo-ook."

Lori steadied the gun to her shoulder and took aim. "Back the fuck off my Bumblebee," she growled and put her eye to the scope.

Frenzy let out a piercing screech and dropped the parts he held. Bee tried to move, tried to get his arm to lift his hand up to put a barrier between the Decepticon and his Lori. He had to protect her, had to save her—!

A loud boom echoed as Lori pulled the trigger. She slipped on the uncertain footing of Bee's chest and fell to her knees, just as Frenzy went rocketing backwards, his head missing. "Little freak."

Bee's optics locked onto Lori as she sat down heavily, and the smoking barrel of the gun she held. Sensors were searching over her body before Bee even realized it, taking inventory of anything that was not as it should be. Her ribs were bruised again. Lacerations and abrasions covered her arms. Blood soaked rags were wrapped around her hands that seemed to be the source of bleeding. There was a small, hair line fracture in her right shin bone, which was starting to bruise and swell. She was an utter and complete mess.

And Bee couldn't have thought her more beautiful any other time in his life.

"Lori…" his voice was a horse crackle. Barricade had damaged his vocal processors again, making it particularly painful to speak.

Lori's deep brown eyes met Bee's bright blue optics, and she gave him a weak smile. "Think I'll be able to pay Ironhide back for saving me, too?"

Bee wrenched his optics away from the glorious female sitting on his chest to the battle still being waged.

**XXXX**

Barricade could feel the connection tying him to Frenzy flare up and die. He could feel it in every atom of his body. Frenzy was offline. Frenzy, his little Frenzy, was he…was he dead?

He sent out call after call over every communications line he could think the little minibot would be on. Emails, instant messages, short wave radio, inter-space lines…everything. _There was no answer. _

"Frenzy!" he voice processor bellowed as he tried to free himself from the Autobot's grip. Maybe, just maybe, Frenzy's communications network had been disabled. Maybe he was beheaded again and struggling to repair the com lines between him and Barricade. Maybe he was still alive. "Frenzy!"

"Shut up," Ironhide snarled from above him and pushed his weight down on the Decepticon.

"Get off, slag it! GET OFF!" Barricade didn't care that it was a brash and stupid move. He trained all his guns on the Autobot, and fired them off all at once. Ironhide simply grunted as he took the shower of bullets. "Frenzy!" Barricade had to give up the assault as the heat from his weapons burned into his circuitry.

"That little runt you call a minibot?" Ironhide's face was in his now, his animated metal shaped in an angry snarl. "The little Pit-fiend is dead, Barricade. Dead. Did you feel his spark die? Did you?"

Barricade roared and shoved at the Autobot with every thing he had. He had to get to Frenzy, he could still save him. He _had to save Frenzy._ "By Primus, get off!" Something was stinging at his optics and tearing at his spark. Something Barricade had never felt before.

He tried again to open communication with Frenzy. He could hear the other Decepticons answering his cries; he could hear their shocked awe at what was happening. He could hear Starscream laughing. Slagging traitor, Pit-cursed fool…

"FRENZY!"

He couldn't be dead, not after so long. Barricade and Frenzy had been together since Barricade first came to consciousness and became aware of what and who he was. It had been Frenzy that had introduced Barricade to the world of Cybertron, had taught him his roll in the grand scheme of things. It had been Frenzy's little spark presence that had tended Barricade's own spark as it grew and matured in the containment field. It was Frenzy that had made sure Barricade's protoform was built to exceptional standards.

Frenzy's spark couldn't have gone out.

Suddenly, the Autobot was off him. His grip had slipped as Barricade lashed around. And Barricade took advantage of the moment to rip at Ironhide's guns and cannons, to push the Autobot far enough away to gain his freedom. He took a few hurried, frantic steps to the last position he knew Frenzy had been, and froze.

The human female. She was standing only meters away from the shining remains of his partner. And in her hand was what had once been Frenzy's head. She tossed it up, flashed her hideous white teeth at Barricade, and caught it.

Barricade only saw red as he roared and charged for the youngling, not caring that Ironhide was back on his feet and pounding dirt to catch him before he reached Lori. It wasn't Ironhide that stopped his charge. It was the soft, quiet voice in the very back of his body, in the little compartment that Frenzy called home.

"_Barrrricade…_"

Bumblebee may have been out of the fight, but he still had enough energy to aim his plasma cannon and fire. The energy blast soared right over Lori's head and into Barricade's frozen body. The force knocked the Decepticon flat on his rear bumper, just as Ironhide slammed a fisted hand into his metallic skull. Barricade's body twitched once, and then fell still.

Lori sat down heavily, her whole body trembling, as Ironhide rose from over Barricade's body. "Humans," the robot sniffed as he eyed Lori. "Always gathering courage at the oddest moments, and still freaking out."

Screw Ironhide and what he thought. Lori feinted shamelessly.

* * *

Author's Notes:

So...? Whatcha think? I'm totally leaving it up in the air whether or not Barricade/Frenzy died. I'm going to let it torture you for another chapter or so. Isn't it delectable? Sorry that this update took so long in getting out. I was stumped for a while on how I wanted to write it, but once I got going it just all poured out. Huzzah! Harry Potter comes out later tonight, so if you're lucky Chapter 9 will be up before 11PM so that I can get my butt to Wal-mart. Double Huzzah!


	9. Chapter 9

Title: Here We Go Now

Chapter: 9 of ?

Author: Minishini

Ratings: PG-13

Pairings: None in this part.

Summary: It's been twenty-four years since the battle to save earth. Sam and Mikaela are happily married, and have their own little family to care for. Their eldest daughter, Lori, is about to depart for college when shit hits the fan.

Disclaimer: Transformers and all that jazz is not mine, I wasn't even born when it was created, and therefore I claim no rights to any of it. So don't sue me, I'm a poor college student. Lori and Jason Witwicky, and Max Lennox are mine, however. So please do not use them unless you ask and are given permission in return. I also don't own the rights to any songs I use; they belong to their respective owners. And it has suddenly come to my attention that there is a female character in Transformers: Cybertron named Laurie. My character does not equal her, just to clarify (I had no idea Laurie in Cybertron existed).

* * *

_Lori's eyes snapped open as her whole body suddenly became aware. She had never been as awake before as she was now. Body trembling, her senses seemed to be on high as she waited, and listened. The eerie quiet of the flame-lit world around her was only pierced by the sounds of electrical sparking; crackling flames, a deep rumbling roar, and a high pitched rambling voice._

"_Bumbling Bee d-d-die," it cackled to itself before splitting off into a tirade of a foreign, robotic language._

_Moving as slowly as she could, so as not to attract the creature's attention, Lori turned her head. She gasped audibly as she spotted Bumblebee, writhing in pain only a few yards away in a seemingly featureless void. His knees were shot up and sparking with damaged circuitry while metallic plates were visibly hanging from his robot frame. He was covered in soot, and dirt, and mud, and grime, and gods only knew what else. She tried to open her mouth to scream at the tiny silver robot darting all over Bee's body, but no sound came._

_Bumblebee seemed to notice her just as the tiny robot did. His bright, glowing blue optics were wide in pain and fear as he tried to reach a hand out to her, tried with his last spark to protect her. The silver Decepticon was cackling madly now as it flipped a wrench in his tiny, agile hands. Lori couldn't hear what he was saying, all of her attention was focused on those bright blue optics. _

_A sharp pain bloomed in her leg as a large throwing star blossomed in her thigh. Lori fell to her knees as her legs refused to hold her weight. "Wa-wa-watch," the robot cackled merrily as it skipped up Bee's chassis. Lori felt the scream wrench from her throat, but still the world was silent as it slowed around that tiny robot. With a look of supreme glee, it lifted the wrench high about its head, and brought it down on Bee's optics._

_Glass shattered. High, piercing robotic screams wrenched from Bee's vocal processors as his entire body bucked and twitched. Frenzy, the little silver Decepticon, was going ballistic tearing up circuitry and ripping away at any metal he could lay his paws on. Bee's face was a mess before he managed to gather the energy to charge one of his plasma hand cannons, and aimed it straight at his own head—_

_The world was thrown into stark relief for a brief moment. Lori was back in the front lawn of her college house. Flames were eating up the once bright green forest surrounding her property. Craters from gun and missile fire spotted the lawn. Ironhide, a huge black-and-gray robot, lay crumpled not too far from Bumblebee. A giant Decepticon was standing over him, snarling with blood thirst as Bumblebee let loose the charge from his cannon, effectively blowing Frenzy and his own head to pieces. _

"No!" Lori screamed and bolted upright. Her heart was pummeling against the cage of her ribs as she panted and gasped for breath, her eyes wide and pupils dilated as she stared at her covered feet. A dream. It was just a dream…

"My database tells me you just suffered a nightmare, Lori Witwicky."

Slowly, still trying to throw off the shock of the dream, Lori turned her attention to the giant robot sitting by her side. The Autobot was looking at her with complete admiration as it leaned over her bed side. "Yeah," her voice was a harsh croak through cracked and dry lips.

"You humans are so…intriguing. I still do not fully understand your sleep processes, but it is absolutely fascinating," the robot was nodding and grinning eagerly as it leaned even closer to her. "What did you dream of? It must have been terrible, your heart rate is exceedingly high, and your perspiration—"

"Who are you?" she interrupted, not caring that she was being rude. From her limited experience with the Autobots, they didn't necessarily share the same mannerisms and social taboos as humans. Being blindingly blunt was a trait they all seemed to share.

The robot was still grinning as he sat down heavily, his giant silver-gray legs folding up underneath him. "I am called Hot Shot, that is as close of a translation as I can provide. I came to see after you in Sam Witwicky's stead."

Lori nodded absently and looked past the robot. The loud roaring in her ears hadn't been imagination after all, but was the loud purr of an aircraft carrier. All around her humans were moving from one station to the next as they tied down gear, checked their equipment, and monitored the giant forms of—Lori swore heatedly and tried to throw her blankets to the side.

"Nah-ah-ah," Hot Shot chuckled and gently pressed her back down on the cot with one finger. "Annabelle says you are not to leave the cot. I should have left you strapped in, but it did not look very comfortable…"

"Bee! Is Bee okay?" Lori was struggling underneath the weight of Hot Shot's finger to catch another glimpse of Bumblebee. What little she had seen of him did not look promising. He was lying stock still and tied down to the floor of the carrier. Hoist was looming over him, growling out directions to the human mechanics that crawled over Bee's dingy yellow chassis. "Why isn't he moving? What's wrong with him?"

Hot Shot sighed and shook his head disapprovingly. "Your vitals are spiking all over the place," he muttered, "maybe I should call a medic over…"

"What the hell is wrong with him!" she yelled and beat at Hot Shot's finger with tiny, fisted hands. The robot blinked at her in surprise, before easing back. "Just tell me!"

"He is merely in stasis," he murmured, still surprised at the fragile human's violent out burst. "Suffering injuries such as his would force any Cybertronian into regenerative rest." Humans were so incredible, Hot Shot thought as he watched the tiny female youngling glare up at him. There were so bold and aggressive for such little creatures…

"Is he going to be okay?"

Hot Shot only nodded before tilting his head to the side in curiosity. He had trouble believing the old arms specialists' report when Prime and his team had shown up at the site of the battle. But now he was starting to find it easier and easier to accept how much damage this little creature caused the Decepticons. "Ironhide has told us what happened. He told us how you off lined Frenzy, and taunted Barricade. What makes you risk your life so haphazardly for that of my comrades? You could have died."

Lori was glaring at him in a look that the internet deemed "murderous". Her delicate eyebrows were forked over a pair of deep brown eyes, her full lips set in a firm frown. "You wouldn't do the same?"

A smile tugged at Hot Shot's mechanical lips as he scanned the human youngling once again. She suffered numerous injuries that, by his standards, could have easily been avoided had she followed Bumblebee's orders. But like any Autobot would have done, she had gone back to the aid of her friends. She had done what Hot Shot had failed to do so many years ago, when he was forced to leave an injured Wheeljack in hostile territory… "I would have," Hot Shot's smile turned sad.

This little human was not so terribly different from him, after all.

"Bumblebee is my best friend," Lori's voice was still unsteady. Her nerves, now that she was awake, were still rattled from the battle that had nearly killed her Autobot guardian. "He would have died to protect me," she pressed on, ignoring her throat constricting and the tears burning her eyes, "I would do the same without hesitation."

Hot Shot's spark swelled with emotion at the youngling's words. It had been so long since he had seen such camaraderie from any creature, Autobot or Decepticon or alien alike. For centuries he had explored space on his own in search of the All Spark, with only the aggressive inhabitants of alien worlds to chase him off their planets and the thoughts of Wheeljack that still plagued him for company.

Once, Hot Shot would have given his life for Wheeljack's. And he was sure Wheeljack would have done the same. They were best friends, partners, and spark-bound in ways that only brothers or mates could be. To think Hot Shot's loyalty to his best mate would lead to the harsh severing of their friendship, and Wheeljack now craving to spill Hot Shot's antifreeze… And now thanks to that hatred, Wheeljack was currently in critical care on a second carrier.

"Then what don't you get?" Lori's harsh voice brought Hot Shot back to the present. "You think that I can't help out, right? That because of what I am I can't possibly be of use to—to—to fucking robots?"

"No," Hot Shot pressed her back down with a finger once more, and gently lifted her blanket back into place. Hot Shot had never assumed humans could not have made an impact in their affairs. He had seen one too many worlds where tiny creatures such as Lori Witwicky had nearly downed him without mishap. "I apologize if that is what I seem to be saying…"

"Forget it," Lori's tone suddenly dropped off as she turned her face away from Hot Shot. "Have you…have you heard anything from my dad or Optimus? About this whole thing?"

Hot Shot thought for a moment, trying to decide whether or not it was his place to tell the girl what little he had heard. "They…do not seem to think it safe for you to be outside of Nowhere anymore."

She nodded in quiet acceptance. "I agree…" she whispered so softly that Hot Shot's sensors had to struggle to catch her vocal pattern.

"You do not sound disappointed."

"I wouldn't ask them to keep putting me and other Autobots in danger," she spoke to the cold metal wall of the airplane. Hot Shot's optics caught the slight shudder in her small shoulders, and the discreet shuddering breath she tried to take. "This is like…twice now…that they've come for me. And this time, they were ready to kill me, or Bee, or even poor Ironhide."

Hot Shot frowned. Was he detecting moisture coming from the girl's optics? "You seem to be leaking saline fluids."

She gave a weak chuckle and sniffled, trying to hide even further into her army green blanket. "You're not supposed to notice that."

"Very well."

"I don't want to keep putting my family and friends in danger, Hot Shot," her voice trembled this time as she spoke. "The Decepticons are after me, and I don't know why. No one would tell me why, I thought…I thought I could still go to school. I didn't see a reason for me to stay back at Nowhere with all of you guys."

Hot Shot looked around nervously as the human youngling trembled again. Should he call a medic? He did not know why her body was reacting this way, or the cause of it. All he knew was that it was not a healthy state for a human to be in. "Sometimes, it takes learning a lesson the hard way to fully understand the depths of it," he replied absently as he scanned the carrier for the closest medic. "That is often the case for me."

Another weak laugh came from the small humanoid, and Hot Shot noticed that it seemed to help with her symptoms. A small part of his consciousness split off to surf the internet, searching for any results that were in common with Lori's actions.

"Chances are," he rumbled on, "is that if Optimus saw no problem in sending you to college, that he did not entirely understand the situation himself. Or he may have understood fully, and was willing to risk it for higher reasons… It is beyond me to guess what Optimus thinks." Hot Shot's consciousness got caught up in a particularly amusing website full of short videos before he redirected it. He would have to take another look at that site later… "My research says you are sad, depressed, down in the dumps, having the blues—"

"Well, you can't blame me," and like a spark Lori was angry again. She threw back her covers, shoved Hot Shot's alarmed hand away from her, and sat up. "If Optimus really knew that this could happen, why would he risk it? Why?"

Hot Shot frowned at the small human. "I do not know what Optimus thinks when he acts. You would have to ask him."

"Then maybe I will," she was still angry and directing the brunt of her emotions at Hot Shot. "I deserve to know what the hell is going on. I didn't press Optimus enough before I left for college; I'm not going to make that mistake again!"

Suddenly, the giant Autobot was grinning at Lori. "May I watch this confrontation?"

"What?" she looked dumbfounded and startled by the question.

"It is often humorous to watch someone confront Optimus."

Lori sighed and visibly relaxed on her cot. "You Autobots are really weird."

"Coming from a creature that excretes fluids from all over its body, I do not find that comment to be so true," and, as Hot Shot had intended it, Lori was laughing easily on her cot. If humor could affect these small humanoids so, Hot Shot would be sure to exploit it.

* * *

Okay, I apologize whole heartedly that this update took nearly...a week. face meets keyboard I've been busy studying for finals (read: PvPing in WoW) and some other random crap, and honestly I got a bit stuck on this chapter. Meet Chapter Point A to Point B Number 2. The next chapter or so is gonna have a lot of plot build up, and odd things happening, so I'm getting a bit antsy to get those up and going soon. Already half done with Chapter 10, so hopefully that'll be up later!

As always, feedback and constructive criticism is both loved and treasured! Thank you to all of you for your support! It's been a big help!

A/N: Hot Shot is going to be a little out of character for a while, methinks. You'll see more on it in the next few chapters. And once again, he is based off the TF: Armada series HOT SHOT. Not G1 HOT ROD or whatever other series.


	10. Chapter 10

Title: Here We Go Now

Chapter: 10 of ?

Author: Minishini

Ratings: PG-13 for curse words.

Pairings: None.

Summary: It's been twenty-four years since the battle to save earth. Sam and Mikaela are happily married, and have their own little family to care for. Their eldest daughter, Lori, is about to depart for college when shit hits the fan.

Disclaimer: Transformers and all that jazz is not mine, I wasn't even born when it was created, and therefore I claim no rights to any of it. So don't sue me, I'm a poor college student. Lori and Jason Witwicky, and Max Lennox are mine, however. So please do not use them unless you ask and are given permission in return. I also don't own the rights to any songs I use; they belong to their respective owners.

* * *

Lori lay awake in her bed, eyes drooping sleepily as she stared at the ceiling. No matter how much her body yelled at her for rest she just couldn't simply slip into rejuvenating sleep. It felt odd being back in a comfortable bed and under the roof of the Autobots' headquarters. Only hours earlier she had been in the middle of a battle between giant, sentient robots as they blasted each other to smithereens. And now…it was quiet. Too quiet for her liking.

Ignoring the throbbing pain in her ribs as she sat up, Lori Witwicky threw back her blankets and slipped easily to the cold metal floor of her living quarters. It had been months since she inhabited the small one-person apartment, and it was still bare and unwelcoming. She felt awkward and out of place.

A gentle touch to a panel by her bed sent her room flooding with soft artificial light. Even then, she had to wince as shining metallic walls caught the light, reflecting and magnifying it through out the room. A small duffle bag broke the uniformed monotony, clothes scattered and pouring sloppily from the gaping zipper. Lori shook her head as she took it all in, and pushed the panel again.

A wall in the room slid apart to open onto an empty hall. Her feet padded quietly as she stepped into the wide expanse, her small arms wrapping around her body self-consciously. She moved without thought, not really knowing where it was she headed or what she sought. The few humans she crossed on her way through the Autobot-sized halls ignored her as they went on their own business in the dead of night. Luckily, Lori thought, no Autobots were about. They were much more curious about what a teenage girl would be doing at this time…

She came to a halt outside a hangar door and stared for a moment. Finding herself outside of Ratchet's med bay for the Autobots wasn't at all surprising, considering that her best friend was currently in critical care behind its doors. The last time Lori had seen Bumblebee he was shot up, falling apart, and deep in stasis. His limp body hadn't even twitched when Ratchet helped load him onto Hoist's flat bed and move him into the clinic. He wouldn't be awake by now, she knew, but still…she wanted to see Bee.

She pushed her way through the small human-sized door and into the relative darkness of the medical center. All the lights were out in the tall room except for a series of bright flood lights, which were currently focusing on the target of Lori's attentions: Bumblebee. Ratchet was leaning over him, apparently deep in concentration, and fiddling with what Lori guessed was a welder.

"You should be in bed, Lori Witwicky," his deep voice echoed in the quiet. "Not sneaking around in areas that are currently off limits to civilians…"

"I think you and I both know it isn't fair for all this to be off limits to me," she spoke up boldly and made her way through the lines of medical beds and stasis tables. Her eyes wandered despite her yearning to get a better look at Bee. Each table seemed to be littered with spare Autobot and car parts, some smaller robotic-looking forms, and Lori even caught sight of a dingy, beat up, and lifeless protoform. She eyed the rusted and peeling pink paint still specking the dead Autobot before, a shape she immediately recognized as the heap of metal Hoist had been bringing in on her first day in Nowhere. Her eyes darted back to Bee's form as a wave of uneasiness swept through her, and she came to a stop at Ratchet's side.

"Life is seldom fair, little one," Ratchet murmured absently before depositing his welding gun on a large medical table at his side. "It is a lesson you would do well to learn."

"How is he, Ratchet?" Lori's voice fell softly as she reached out a tentative hand to Bee's off line body. Soft fingers ran over mammoth cold metal plating, her sense of touch picking up on ever knick and scratch in Bee's surface.

Ratchet was silent for a moment as he watched the new readouts his sensors were bringing him. Lori's touch seemed to do something to Bee's consciousness that both settled the Autobot scout and comforted him. It was odd, he thought, but it was common in comatose humans, so maybe in Autobots it wasn't a bad thing. "He will be out of duty for quiet some time, I'm afraid. Optimus Prime has decided to appoint Hot Shot as your temporary guardian until I deem Bee ready for the field again."

Lori's heart fell with a million emotions, one of which leapt to the forefront of her mind. "I don't need a guardian. I'm not leaving Nowhere, we all know that."

Ratchet nodded absently before shifting his massive hand into some laser device. A small red beam shot from the end to smolder a chunk of circuitry that was out of place in Bee's chassis. "Risks will not be taken when it comes to your safety, Lori."

"Then does every god damn human here have a guardian, huh?" anger rose in Lori's voice as she turned from Bee's body. The sight of him in this condition filled her with hate for the Decepticons, anger for not being able to help him, frustration with Prime, and even self-hatred. She was the reason Bee was like this. She was the reason Ironhide was knocked out in a stasis bed on the opposite side of the room with a gaping hole in his chest. She didn't want to be the reason Hot Shot ended up in here, too. Or any one else, for that matter. "Why the hell am I so special that I get a giant fucking robot body guard?"

The laser gun died abruptly as Ratchet focused glowing blue optics on the little humanoid by his side. This girl, this youngling, for some reason was a very precious object to not only the Autobots, but to Optimus Prime himself. Bumblebee and Ironhide had already unofficially adopted her into the family; Prime was scrutinous when it came to her safety and well being; and even Ratchet found himself unconsciously scanning her body to affirm her good health. Ratchet had the vaguest ideas why, but…it was not for him to tell her. Or give her a theory that turned out to be false. "You are a precious sparkling, Lori. Is that not reason enough?"

"No, quite frankly, it's not. What kind of bullshit response is that?" the girl was mimicking the older women in her life now as she put her hands on her hips and glared up at Ratchet. He had seen that look too many times from the Lennox women and from Mikaela to misunderstand its meaning. Slag humans for passing on their body language and demeanors from one generation to the next!

"I thought it was quite appropriate. Cybertronians as well as humans are fond of the ideas of every life spark being special—"

"More bullshit," she cut in. "We both know people spew that kind of crap when they're only trying to be nice. I want straight answers, Ratchet. I know you know something!"

Ratchet let out an automated sigh. His sensors gently set Bumblebee's information to the back burner as he turned his full attention on the human youngling. "You will have to talk to Optimus Prime if you want to hear anymore, Lori."

"Then where the hell is he?" Ratchet thought she was putting up a valiant front as the girl tried to suppress the reactions her body was having to her current emotions. Her throat had grown taught as she spoke and made her voice crack and distort. Even her eyes seemed to be watery with a sorrowful anger. "I haven't seen paint job or tail light of him since we got back!"

_**Bring her to me.**_ Prime's voice booming over Ratchet's personal communication lines was hardly a surprise.

Ratchet sighed, checked to make sure all of Bumblebee's life signs were at an acceptable level, and then turned to Lori. "He is in a back room to my med bay. Would you like to see him now?"

She took a step back in surprise, her small eyes looking uncertain as she looked between Ratchet and Bumblebee. "Shouldn't…shouldn't you be working on Bee versus toting me around?"

One mammoth, yellow and gray hand reached out to gently pat Lori on the head. "Bumblebee will still be here when I get back. Evidently, your questions can not wait till morning. And Prime thinks it is time for you to know."

**XXXX**

Lori trembled slightly as Ratchet gently nudged her through a large garage door into a smaller chamber branching off from his main medical area. Her deep brown eyes were wide in fright as she watched the contents of a small, rectangular, translucent box set in the middle of the room. A tiny silver robot skittered from one corner to the other, screeching and chattering angrily as it tried in vane to break free.

"What the hell is that doing here?" she gasped quietly.

"Frenzy has every right to live, just as we do," Optimus Prime's dominating voice drew Lori's attention from the box. He was squatting down in front of a horizontal stasis bed, blue optics blazing as he stared up at the demolished Decepticon before him. "As does Barricade."

Lori pressed her small body back against Ratchet's foot as she took in the black and silver Decepticon. He was an absolute massacre. That was the only description she could think to describe him. Bumblebee had bee in bad condition. Barricade was in worse.

His sharp angled little head was completely smashed in and tilting at an unnatural angle. Optics dangled uselessly from what had been their sockets, a spark or two flickering in their depths every now and then. His entire front was a half melted mess. Guns and cannons were askew on his shoulders and arms, the barrels scorched and burned through in spots. It was almost gruesome, Lori thought. Despite what he was, she had a hard time convincing herself that he deserved this.

"Our numbers are not so grand that we can afford to lose a single spark, Lori Witwicky."

Prime's voice brought her back to the here and now. It flooded her with courage, and a deep sense of comfort. It was enough to encourage her to leave the safety of Ratchet's warm metal feet and step closer to the Autobot leader.

Blazing blue optics turned on her, and Lori saw millennia worth of sorrow and frustration in their depths. "I have never felt joy towards the death of any living being, no matter their crimes. To let another spark fall victim…I will not have it. Barricade's objective was a true and noble one at the start. Megatron…has corrupted many young sparks before."

"Why…Optimus, I don't understand," Lori rubbed at her eyes and tried to fight back the tears that threatened her. To think that a day before she had been hell bent on destroying the life of the two Decepticons in the room. And now…seeing them like this, and seeing Optimus Prime's reaction… She felt absolutely horrid. It was not her place to deem whether a being should live or die. The only reason she hated the two robots was because of what they did to Bee…

"Someday, your species will be on the brink of extinction as ours is," Prime's optics turned back to the deformities of Barricade's body. "Your species' appreciation for human life will only grow. Every birth will be a celebration worthy of a feast. Every death a cause for a year's mourning. Human kind will strive to find a way, at any means necessary, to see the continuation of their species. Do you understand that, Lori?"

Lori gathered more courage to approach the giant Autobot. He overshadowed every thing in the room, Decepticons and Ratchet alike. Even squatting as he was now, Prime was on eye level with Barricade. He was a great, dominating presence that vibrated with power and strength, no matter how gentle and cautiously Prime moved. She touched a hand to the hot metal of his feet, and felt a slight shock set through her body. "Yeah…"

"Then, you would understand why Autobots and Decepticons alike were so desperate to obtain power of the All Spark?" Prime's voice processors lowered gently until he sounded more like a friend than a leader. "There are several ways for our kind to reproduce…all of which take years upon years of preparation, and are quite difficult. It is no easy task building a new body. The only thing we can not do without risk to our own lives is produce a spark."

"You…build your bodies?" Lori took comfort in the small shock Optimus had sent her, and moved until she sat on the toe of his foot. Never had it occurred to her to ask Bee or any of the Autobots exactly how they came into being. She had just…taken them for granted.

"Yes," Ratchet broke in. His body creaked and hissed as he moved to stand beside Optimus. "A host body was constructed to fit the needs and class of a Cybertronian, then it was presented to the All Spark. It would give the body the spark of life, and in turn bless our people with a new being."

"Then…when the All Spark was destroyed…" Lori fell silent as it all finally sunk in. The Autobot's situation had always seemed simple to her before. They fought the Decepticons in the name of good. But now…it all seemed much more complicated, much more deep and meaningful than she had thought. They fought a battle for survival, not only for themselves, but for their species. They fought to for a ruined home world, for a new place to call home, for peace with their brethren so that… "Will you go extinct now?"

"Only if we do not save what lives we have," Prime's voice was relatively quiet. "Decepticon and Autobot alike. We will need every spark we can muster if we are to repopulate our race."

"Then…those spare parts out in Ratchet's med bay. Those…?"

"Will someday become Cybertronians," Ratchet nodded slowly. "The body of the Arielbot will be modified and individualized, and have a spark implanted. Hopefully, she will not be the only femme left to us. We've yet to receive word from—"

"Enough, Ratchet," Prime's short clip of an order sent the tension soaring through Lori's body. "You wanted to speak to me of something else, Lori."

Her temper flared. Lori pushed away from Optimus Prime's foot as she remembered exactly why she was here. What she wanted to know. "What the fuck is so special with me?"

Prime's face turned down to her in a sad smile. "You, Lori," he started slowly, "may hold the key to our survival."

* * *

A/N: Sorry this update was so long in coming. I've been extremely busy with real life lately. And I will be for quite some time. Don't expect the next update until at least Saturday, August 11, as I'll be out of town visiting my Mum for the week. And then I have family in town the week after that. And then I start fall semester at el collegio. I'll update as I can. ;o; Thank you for your patience and understanding!


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